Chapter Title: Oh, I could use a little saving

Author's Note: Thanks for all of the support for this story, in whichever form or content! For that, here's a chapter one day earlier than I originally planned!

Disclaimer: I claim no ownership or copyright of anything depicted or over anything you might recognize.

"Master!"

Ahsoka could only look on in horror as her master disappeared along with what remained of the ground. Dust whirled around them and the earth rumbled and shook violently as it collapsed, sending tingling vibrations up Ahsoka's arms and through her legs. The loud booms of rocks colliding and crumbling, resonated on the battlefield.

Then everything calmed. The earth no longer groaned and roiled. The dust settled.

For a second, everything was quiet.

The droids were the first to regain their senses, as emotion and bewilderment didn't exist in their code. They charged with renewed rigor, convinced the loss of their enemy's general could turn the tide to their favor. Ahsoka had no choice but to nimbly jump back on her feet and continue fighting. She kept glancing back to the gaping hole behind her. She couldn't help the small hope that flared in her chest of seeing her master emerge from the pit, unscathed and incredibly annoyed.

Only he didn't.

The gaping gash that had appeared in the earth remained immobile and quiet. No one resurfaced to join them back into the fray and Ahsoka was left as the commanding officer. Fear and anxiety for her master drove her forward, determined not to let Anakin's selfish act be in vain. She would win this battle and then she would find him in one piece.

She knew it was a precarious balance to let her emotions guide her fighting. She did her best not to let it overwhelm her too much. She instead let her unease and concern flow into a hard determination that made her moves precise and ruthless. She pivoted, turned and jumped from one opponent to the next, her lightsabers effortlessly cutting through droid after droid, Rex and his troops following her bold lead.

Her communicator blinked and Obi-Wan's agitated voice filtered through the clamor of blaster fire.

"Ahsoka! Ahsoka, do you read me?"

Ahsoka sliced a droid in half and twirled on the ball of her foot to dispatch of its partner before answering. "Loud and clear, Master."

"Well, at least one of you knows how to answer your comms. We've driven back the Separatist flanks, how's it going on your end?"

"Uh…," Ahsoka halted for a brief second. She wasn't entirely sure what to answer. Judging by the tone of his voice, Obi-Wan definitely knew something was up. A breath later, she said, "We could use some assistance over here."

"Say no more."

She didn't have to hold the line alone for long. Soon, the sound of thumbing feet and clattering armor began rummaging from the depth of the forest. Emerging from the trees, came half of the 212th battalion, led by Obi-Wan Kenobi and his glowing azure lightsaber. They threw the Separatist vanguard completely off track and the tactical droid had been so overwhelmed by the sudden assistance it couldn't compute a tactical counter response fast enough. Together, the two Jedi and merged clone battalions overpowered the rest of the enemy army. It didn't take long before Ahsoka found herself hanging her twin 'sabers back onto her belt and, breathing heavily with the strain of battle, she turned her eyes to the Jedi Master standing beside her.

His wary gaze carefully surveyed the battlefield, as clones meticulously began cataloguing wins and losses, tending to the wounded and scourging for any leftover droids or weaponry. As the urgent rush of battle dissipated from the air, the tranquil lull that always followed slowly started to seep into the bones of every soldier. But Ahsoka couldn't rest. The battle might have been won but there remained one glaring fight left – the most important one of all. To her shame, Ahsoka had briefly forgotten about Anakin as the instinctive need to survive a fight had overtaken her senses. But as soon as she stood still, she was painfully reminded that the calming, powerful presence of her master was no longer by her side.

She only had to wait a breath before Obi-Wan turned his attention to her and even though no bond existed between them, she could feel his concern emanating from his Force.

"Where is Anakin?"

Anakin drew in another deep breath as he felt his concentration drifting again.

His arms had started to tremble ever so slightly with the strain. Sweat was dripping down from his forehead, running down his cheeks and rolling to the tip of his nose where they dropped soundlessly into the dirt by his knees.

He hadn't moved.

He was still leaning on his knees with his hands thrust up over his head, with the thick, heavy boulders lingering a fraction above his mattered hair. He didn't dare shift his stance, not even to get into a more comfortable position. He was barely holding on as it was. His hold on his concentration kept faltering, sending small showers of rubble drizzling into the small Force-made cave. His stamina was slowly waning as his strength seeped out from the wound on his abdomen.

Wounds from blasters or by lightsabers did have one glaring advantage. The heat intensity from both kinds of weapons was so high that it instantly cauterized the wound. That was what had saved his life after he lost his arm on Geonosis after all. So, unless you took a critical hit, the weapon itself could actually end up saving you. It certainly kept you from bleeding out. But his tumble downwards and the bruising collisions he took along the way had dislodged some of the clotting generated by the heat of the shot. Some of the blood vessels had reopened. His blood had started to slowly coat his tunic where it ran gently down his side to splash onto the ground. Unlike his sweat, the impacts of the fat drops seemed to echo loudly in the silence. Like every drop signified another weakening tear into his resilience.

He wavered then and heard the grumble of the moving rocks as they shifted above him. Stubbornly, he retained his focus. The stones hovering menacingly over his head halted their movements. His labored, strained breathing filled the returning quiet.

He knew his kneeling pose compromised his attention. He knew it would serve him better to slip into a meditative cross-logged position and remain there. If he hadn't been shot, he probably would have. Yet, it was also blatantly clear that one needless move and everything would come crashing down on him. He simply wasn't strong enough.

Normally, such a statement would have hurt his stubborn pride immensely. However, as it was, he found he didn't have the energy to care. That in itself would be disconcerting, but he didn't have it in him to care about that either.

Everything ached and pulled painfully, his side throbbing mercilessly and his heart pounded in his ears. His mind was twirling dizzily and made it hard to focus on one simple thought at a time. His time was steadily running out; with every fluttering beat of his heart and every drip of his life's blood. His felt his own presence in the Force falter and sway as his control weakened, bit by bit. He cautiously tried reaching out for Obi-Wan's steady feel and Ahsoka's bright shine. He had to withdraw immediately when his stony surroundings shook alarmingly as his concentration wandered.

He was forced back into his own mind. Instead, he allowed his thoughts to drift to Padme's beautiful face and let the memories of her steady, loving support and fierce determination anchor him back.

He breathed another deep breath, wincing as he felt his stomach twinge painfully.

He was left with only one option. To remain where he was and hope that his former master and padawan would find him sooner rather than later.

Before his strength well and truly gave out.

TBC