Ahsoka's hand trembles as it tries to keep her mug of tea steady. Padmé notices, giving her a soft smile as she lowers the drink to the table and releases Ahsoka's white-knuckle grip on the handle.
She's angry at the Jedi for causing Ahsoka so much physical and emotional pain. Most of the time, Padmé disagrees with their politics, but she has never questioned their war strategies. After all, they're the Generals.
This though... this is a war crime.
Padmé's pretty sure the Council have broken multiple laws by executing this plan, both by deceiving the original Hardeen and by lying about their plan within their own party.
She doesn't think taking them to court will benefit anyone. After all, they've been using child soldiers for centuries and nobody has even batted an eyelid.
She sighs, bringing herself out of her thoughts to comfort the trembling Togruta. Ahsoka is curled up in a ball on the couch in the main palace lounge, practically nestled in Padmé's lap.
"Breathe, Ahsoka." She urges softly, rubbing the girl's shoulder where the knotted blaster bolt scar lies. "Just focus on breathing."
From years spent with Anakin, Padmé knows how dangerous Force-sensitives can be when they panic. Ahsoka is holding herself together tremendously, but her mind has been through- is going through- some serious strain.
It's only a matter of time until she snaps.
"For my entire- entire life... I've wanted to," Ahsoka hiccups through her words, "wanted to make them proud... I just..."
"Feel unappreciated." Padmé finishes when Ahsoka is unable to, feeling a striking resemblance to her life as Queen of Naboo. "It's hard to be a young woman surrounded by older and more self-assured men, especially when they don't give you any credit for your competency."
Ahsoka nods through her tears.
"You're the most down to earth Jedi in the Order, and that's saying something considering I'm-" Padmé bites her tongue, "considering I get along so well with Anakin."
She wraps an arm around the girl, "You've saved my life on many occasions, Ahsoka, and I won't ever be able to repay you for your selflessness. Please, if you don't feel appreciated by the Council, feel appreciated by me."
The Togruta Jedi really doesn't get enough credit. No wonder she feels so betrayed by the Council right now. After years of loyalty to the Republic Senate, Padmé would be crestfallen if the Chancellor went behind her back like the Council did to Ahsoka.
"Once again, you have all distinguished yourselves in the eyes of the Republic," The Queen says, "and the people of Naboo are in your debt."
"It's all part of the job, your Highness." Anakin says, trying to act interested as he battles his inner demons. It feels like everyone's eyes are on the silka braid clipped to his belt.
He's had a very long week, and all he wants to do is sleep and be dead to the universe for a month.
"The Chancellor has decided to send most of the security detail back to Coruscant." Anakin says, turning to where Windu and Obi-Wan are approaching him. "With the threat now passed, I'll be all the security he needs."
"I disagree." Windu says, still decked in Hardeen's attire and sporting his face and voice.
"Of course, you do." Anakin's response is majorly out of line, but he doesn't bother backtracking. "Do you not trust me to protect him?"
Windu frowns, "Bang on, Skywalker. This mission has shown me I can't trust you or Obi-Wan to do your jobs properly. You," he points angrily at Anakin, "shouldn't have come to Orondia, and you," he turns to Obi-Wan, "shouldn't have let Tano take the shot for you. I've seen the security footage; you hesitated."
They've never seen Windu so erratic, and it only fuels Anakin's rage.
"If you had to put your life into a bulletproof vest, I'm sure you would hesitate too, Master Windu!" Anakin challenges when Obi-Wan doesn't defend himself. "You're just saying that because deep down, you know nobody would take a shot for you like Ahsoka did for Obi-Wan."
The two tempered Jedi stand chest-to-chest, nostrils flaring as they wait for the other man to throw the first fist. Obi-Wan puts a hand on their shoulders, tugging them apart. "Let's start acting like Jedi Generals again, gentlemen, at least in public."
"I quite agree, Master Kenobi!" A female voice Anakin can recognise anywhere cuts in, and he immediately backs away from Windu.
Padmé is storming towards them with a look of absolute fury on her face. "I'm no expert on the Code, but I'm pretty sure one of the Council's jobs isn't to put a child in harm's way and then lie about it. Please, correct me if I'm wrong."
She pins all of them with a deadly glare. Anakin's never been intimidated of his wife before. Sure, Padmé is a politician through and through, but her skillset of heated diplomacy is usually aimed at Separatists and the Trade Federation- not him.
"Senator Amidala." Windu greets gruffly, most likely embarrassed he got caught out of his usual stoic composure. "I think you'll find the dealings of the Jedi Council are none of your concern."
"It is when Ahsoka Tano is involved." Padmé states, and Anakin can't help but smile gratefully at his wife for standing up to the Council.
Then, her gaze lands on him, and he immediately wipes the smile off his lips. "You've let her down, Anakin. As her Master- and her friend- you should've told her the truth as soon as you found out."
Does she not think he knows that?
Anakin crosses his arms over his chest, "Where's Ahsoka?"
"She isn't going back to Coruscant with you." Padmé replies, sticking her chin up.
"Senator," Obi-Wan couldn't have inputted at a better time, "Ahsoka has suffered a head injury. She needs to return to the Halls of Healing."
"I'll ensure she is treated at the best medical facility on Naboo, but she will not return to the Jedi Temple until she wants to."
"That's not your decision to make." Windu challenges.
Padmé merely raises a brow, "You'd be surprised at how much authority I hold as the Senator of Naboo, Mace."
The use of his first name is a casual reminder that she outranks him. On any other occasion, Anakin would be impressed, but this isn't some small disagreement. Padmé genuinely believes Ahsoka should stay on Naboo until she feels ready to return to the Temple.
The silka beads on his waist are heavy.
As much as it hurts, Anakin doesn't want to put Ahsoka under more stress by forcing her to sit on the shuttle with everyone and then deal with the rest of the Council once they get back to Coruscant.
"Senator Amidala has a good point, Masters." Both Obi-Wan and Windu whirl around to stare at him, shocked. "Ahsoka is due to be out of action for several months. I believe she will recover faster here, than at the Temple."
"Then, it's settled." Padmé's eyes sparkle with gratitude although she still looks murderous, "With her Master's consent, Ahsoka will not board the ship back to Coruscant. Good day, Generals."
With that, she spins on her heel to leave.
Do not let her stay alone, Chosen One.
"Padmé, wait!" Anakin calls, running after her, unable to stop the anxiety gnawing in his gut.
Something isn't right.
She turns and her expression softens when she sees it's only him following her, "What, Ani?"
"I can stay on Naboo too."
Her eyebrows shoot upwards in surprise, "Ani-"
"She doesn't even have to know I'm here!" He pleads, "Please, Padmé, the Force is telling me to stay! I'll never forgive myself if-"
"Anakin." She snaps, shutting him up. Padmé glances around before taking a step towards him, "I love you, Anakin, and I truly believe you didn't mean to hurt Ahsoka, but if you saw the way I had to hold her earlier…"
His wife trails off, and Anakin feels like his chest ache. Without thinking, he closes the distance between them and takes Padmé's hands. "I'm going to make it up to her, I promise. I just need to stay nearby to make sure she's safe."
He isn't entirely sure how he'll make it up to Ahsoka, but he has a few ideas. She probably hates him right now, but he wouldn't be able to call himself a good Master- or friend- if he doesn't try to fix this mess.
"You can stay, Anakin," Padmé says softly, "but perhaps you should forgive Obi-Wan before you expect Ahsoka to forgive you."
With a damp flannel, Ahsoka wipes her face, ridding herself of the tears from crying so much. Her cheeks are still red, and the white markings on her face are glowing slightly from emotional overstimulation, but she at least pretends to be over her breakdown.
She feels better now she's away from the Jedi, even though she can sense Anakin hovering nearby. Padmé promised she didn't need to speak to any of her Masters until she felt ready.
Ahsoka honestly doesn't know when she can look at any of them in the eyes again.
They lied to her.
Obi-Wan was supposed to be shot by Hardeen, and he was going to fake his death. Not just fake it to the universe, but also to Anakin and Ahsoka. How crushed would Anakin have been? When he told her about the plan in the speeder back to the palace, Anakin's eyes took on a glazed look when he said the Council were relying on his reaction to convince everyone that Obi-Wan was dead.
Typical Council: shunning Anakin for his emotions and then exploiting them.
She wants out of the Order.
It's something she's never considered before. The Order is her life, her family, her home, and she has never contemplated exchanging it for another way of life.
Where would she go? She would have to get a job, an apartment, credits; the list goes on. She knows Padmé would help her, but being near Padmé means being near Anakin.
She loves Anakin- she really does. She just thought their relationship was built on trust and mutual respect. Apparently, it wasn't.
Surprisingly, she notices the missing weight of her silka braid on the back of her head. If she really wanted to leave the Order, wouldn't she enjoy being free from her Padawan braid?
"We will leave as soon as Queen Neeyutnee's banquet is over." The Chancellor says as he and Anakin walk through the dark corridors of the palace. "I also want to say goodbye to Senator Amidala. She has been a very gracious host."
Anakin hums in agreement, his mind lightyears away.
Occasionally, he nudges Ahsoka's Force-signature, trying to understand the storm of emotions within her. She's holding a lot of hostility towards the Jedi, but when it comes to him, it's more complicated.
"Padmé didn't mention a banquet to me." He says, keying back into the conversation.
"Perhaps she meant it as a surprise." The Chancellor muses out loud, "I must say, the lengths the Jedi will go to is nothing short of incredible. I assume the brilliant plan to disguise Mace Windu was yours."
"No… it wasn't, sir." Anakin stutters, attempts to laugh but it comes out as nervous, "I was in the dark as much as you were."
If he oversaw the mission, nobody would've got hurt, even if that meant he had to play the role of Hardeen himself. He wouldn't have faked his death, but if he had to, he would've told the people close to him. He's a decent person like that.
"Really?" The Chancellor asks, shocked. He quickly composes himself, "Interesting. I was under the impression the Jedi always worked as a team."
So was he. Anakin even used to have the radical idea that friends didn't hurt each other by faking their own deaths.
Just as he opens his mouth to respond, the doors open, and he's greeted with the looming presence of the Darkside.
Dooku smiles at them from across the room, "Ah, Skywalker and Chancellor Palpatine. Welcome."
Ahsoka takes off running as soon as she feels Anakin in pain. Her prosthetic leg hinders her, but she doesn't dare stop. As long as Anakin's in danger, she could be paralysed and still run to his aid.
Even if she rejected him as her Master.
She skids to a stop outside the room where she can sense Anakin inside- and she falls from trying to stop so suddenly. Climbing to her feet- certain she'll be covered head to toe in bruises- she gets to work on opening the door.
As she works on the control panel, she senses someone approaching from the other side. A brief brush with the Force tells her it's the Chancellor, but she still ignites her lightsaber. It's a good thing she does as an icy breath brushes past her again.
Behind you, young one!
Ahsoka spins and clashes her lightsaber against the magna-guard's staff. This is the first lightsaber combat she's attempted since her injury and trying to hold her lightsaber with only one working hand is already difficult.
The door behind her opens and she hears Palpatine gasp, "Padawan Tano?"
Distracted, the magna-guard easily kicks her stomach and sends Ahsoka tumbling to the ground. The fall hurts her back, but when she sees the droid grab Palpatine, she ignores her pain.
What's one more injury?
She uses a chair to haul herself upright and sees the guard pulling the Chancellor towards Dooku who is dualling Anakin at the back of the room. Dooku sends chairs flying at Anakin and he bats them away with his lightsaber like flies.
"Anakin!" She shouts, running towards the chaos with her lightsaber in her right hand. She's ambidextrous- as most Jedi are- but she has always been stronger in her left. She doubts Dooku will go easy on her because of that.
"Ahsoka!" Anakin yells whilst Dooku uses the Force to lodge two forks into his cybernetic arm. Ahsoka winces as he pulls the metal objects out of his arm without a single flinch, "Get back! You can't help!"
Fire ignites in her soul at his words.
"No!" She declares before swinging for Dooku. She hasn't trained under Anakin for so long and lost a leg just to accept defeat and let him do all the fighting.
Besides, this is Count-kriffing-Dooku, not some bounty hunter who Anakin can easily defeat on his own.
Before her lightsaber even touches the Count's, Ahsoka is stabbed by the magna-guard behind her. The bolt leaves her weak, falling her knees whilst her entire spine tingles. She just manages to raise her lightsaber in time to stop Dooku from decapitating her.
"I see the weakened Padawan has still got some flare in her." Dooku taunts, then his blazing eyes flicker to her headdress, "Or should I say ex-Padawan."
"Get away from her!" Anakin screams, his voice full of protectiveness as he swings at Dooku, scoring a line across his shoulder.
Dooku chuckles, pushes Ahsoka aside as he engages Anakin, "She's weak, Skywalker, just like you."
Ahsoka pulls herself upright again, feels completely exhausted from just under a minute of fighting. Everything hurts: her head, legs, arms, back. It hurts the most in her heart. Since when did she need Anakin to protect her?
She raises her lightsaber to charge into the fight when Anakin sticks out a hand and her body moves like a rag doll when he accesses the Force. She's loosely aware of herself sliding down the length of the table with cutlery clattering around her.
When she falls off, her head hits the ground first, and she's immediately lost to unconsciousness. She really ought to be more careful with her head before she permanently damages her brain.
She tries to stir, but it's no use. Her body is too weak to handle any more stress, and so is her mind.
With Ahsoka out of the way, Anakin pushes forwards through the palace corridors, swinging at Dooku with speed and precision.
Dooku is knocked to the ground, and Anakin promptly brings their blades into a deadly lock. The Count manages to hold him off which prompts Anakin to grab his throat, squeezing hard.
This is for Ahsoka.
He feels Dooku's fingertips brush his tunic, and then his back arches when Force-lightning begins to course through him. He always forgets how much it hurts. Dooku soon gets bored and uses the Force to push Anakin against a pillar some distance away.
Ouch.
He isn't sure how long he's knocked out for, but he comes to as soon as Obi-Wan places a hand on his shoulder. He's hauled upright although his body aches, "Are you alright?"
He ignores his former Master and starts after Dooku once again, "Come on! We can't let him take the Chancellor!" He frowns as they start to sprint, "I thought you and Windu already left Naboo?"
"Mace left; I stayed." Obi-Wan gives him a sideways glance, "I had a bad feeling. Padmé let me stay."
Even with the pressure of their circumstances, Anakin rolls his eyes. Of course, Padmé had something to do with this.
He remembers what Padmé told him earlier and murmurs, "I forgive you."
"What?"
"I forgive you!" He shouts, cheeks blazing.
"Oh… alright."
They run out onto the platform together- almost like it's old times- and see Dooku herding the Chancellor onto his ship. It isn't hard to jump onto the rising ship ramp, and Anakin is quick to bring a lightsaber to the back of Dooku's head- only to have it blocked.
Obi-Wan jumps up beside him, kicking the magna-guard from the ship and then jumping to the platform with the Chancellor. Anakin swings his lightsaber at the Count, trying to distract him whilst they get Palpatine off this ship.
As soon as he sees the Chancellor safely at Obi-Wan's side, Anakin allows Dooku to toss him off the ship, landing with an easy backflip onto the platform. They glare at the Count- all irritated they haven't been able to capture him again.
The Padawan, Chosen One!
Panic erupts in Anakin when he hears glass shatter above their heads and a small Togruta flies from the building, straight onto Dooku's ship.
"Ahsoka, no!" Anakin screams, his voice going hoarse when he sees Dooku grin, igniting his lightsaber.
No, no, no…
Ahsoka isn't prepared.
She's standing with her back to Anakin which gives him a perfect view of Dooku's red lightsaber stabbing straight through her stomach. Somehow, he hears her let out a quiet, choked gasp, and it feels like his own chest is split in two.
He's completely frozen, even when Ahsoka falls backwards, sliding off Dooku's lightsaber and falling- not onto the platform, but to the ground.
She lets out a scream, and Anakin can't move.
Obi-Wan shouts his name, dashes past him and dives off the platform, starting to free-fall. Anakin collapses to his knees, feeling her Force-signature flickering. He's losing her, and he can't even go to her.
"S-Snips…" he breathes, touching his own chest where the lightsaber must've hit hers. His heart thuds a million beats a minute, and hers is barely beating.
She's leaving him.
His Padawan is dying, and she's not even his Padawan anymore. She gave up the braid. It's on his belt.
She's dying without him- without the Order. She's going to die as an orphan.
Somehow, that thought gives him the strength to run to the edge of the platform and jump. He won't let her die without him by her side.
Obi-Wan feels the wind whip at his face as he dives closer and closer to the limp Padawan. It's a long fall to the courtyard, but it feels like everything is going in slow motion. He can see her face. Her eyes are wide with fear, mouth open in a silent scream. She's looking directly at him.
There's a smouldering hole just below her breastbone, the smell of burnt flesh in the air. Obi-Wan remembers Qui-Gon being killed with a lightsaber through the stomach which forces him to become even more streamline, begging the Force to allow him to get to her before she hits the ground.
Her life force is fading fast. The lightsaber wound didn't kill her but hitting the ground certainly will. He didn't get the chance to catch Ahsoka when Hardeen shot her. Now, he has a chance.
Tears blur his eyes; Ahsoka is just out of his grip.
"Please!" He pleads in a whisper, speaking to the Force itself, "I'll fix everything, I promise. I'll never hurt her again! I'll do anything, just let her live."
Painful seconds stroll by, and the rest of the universe is completely invisible to Obi-Wan as he reaches for her. Tears are streaming up his face as the wind pushes them back.
Then, she's in his arms….
For the briefest of moments…
And then they hit the centre of the courtyard.