I stayed up so late writing this chapter that I can literally hear birds chirping rn. rip my sleep schedule.

So, a few of you were wondering why Ahsoka's lightsabers are blue and green. I wanted to differentiate between her green/yellow ones and her blue/blue ones from S7. Kind of representative of how, in this universe, everything would play out differently and Ahsoka would be a different person than in canon (at least that was my rationale at like 3 am when I made that decision lol).

Thank you so much for all the support I've been receiving for this story. It means so much to me that people enjoy it :)

Anakin sat against the closed door of the bunker, observing the deserted city for any signs of life. He was covered in sand, but at this point, he didn't care. A deflector shield arched over the bunker, protecting him, Ahsoka, and half of the 501st. Clones were scattered all along the huge door, with 3 stationed in the control center to protect the shield generators.

"Hey," Ahsoka said, sitting down next to him.

Anakin smiled at the sight of the new lightsabers that were clipped to her belt. "Hey."

"I wonder how Obi-Wan and Rex are holding up," She said.

Anakin chuckled. "I bet Obi-Wan is getting sunburnt again." Ahsoka laughed at the memory.

A hot desert breeze blew Anakin's hair away from his face and he squinted to keep the sand from blowing in his eyes.

"Your hair is getting really long, Anakin,"

"I knew you'd say that," Anakin grinned. "I suppose you want me to cut it?"

"No, actually, it looks nice," She said.

"Really? Last time I checked you thought that my hair was weird," Anakin reminded her.

"I've since come to terms with it."

Anakin laughed, closing his eyes and leaning his head back. "Good."

"Does Padme like it?"

Anakin sat forward. "What? Why would Senator Amidala have any opinion on my hair?"
Ahsoka rolled her eyes and watched as a bird flew over the city. "I'm going to pretend you didn't say that," She said. Does she know? It couldn't be. They had been so discrete!

"It's been a while since I've been in battle," She said, changing the subject.

"How are you feeling?" Anakin asked, pushing aside his worries. Besides, He thought. It's not like she'd be telling the council on us anyways.

"Fine," She said. "No different than I used to feel."

Anakin leaned back against the bunker. Than she used to feel. When I brought a child to war.

"You're upset about something," She noted.

"I'm so sorry for endangering you," Anakin sighed.

"What? What are you talking about?"

"I can't believe that I took someone who was barely even a teenager into an active warzone. It was wrong."

"Hold on, Anakin," She said stubbornly, "That was my decision,"
"Well, I shouldn't have allowed it. What if you had died?"

"You never would have let that happen."

"I did let that happen, remember?" Anakin said, shivering at the memory of Mortis.

Ahsoka sighed. "Anakin, that's all in the past. The force willed me to survive, and so I did. There's no use feeling guilty over it now."

Anakin stayed silent. He knew that technically, what she had said was true. However, he couldn't shake the thought that she could have died. For real. And it would have been his fault.

Anakin knew that he had always been an overprotective master. But in the end, he had never been able to keep her safe. It was ironic.

Sometimes, Anakin wondered what would have happened if Ahsoka had been apprenticed to Obi-Wan, instead. Maybe, she would never have left. Anakin knew there were many reasons why she did. However, there was always a voice in the back of his head saying that maybe, just maybe, it had been him that had driven her away. Lately, after seeing how easily she had connected with her parents, the nagging voice in the back of his head was starting to sound more and more reasonable.

Anakin couldn't help but feel as if he had failed her.

"Ahsoka, can I ask you something?" His voice was soft. She nodded. "Were you happy with me?" It was barely more than a whisper.

"What?" She asked, shocked.

"Of course, Anakin, of course I was happy with you. Why would you think otherwise?"

Anakin stared at the sand "When you left, was it my fault?"

Ahsoka put a hand on his shoulder. "No, it wasn't."

He looked up at her. "Even though I failed?"

"Is that what you think?" She asked, shocked. "Anakin, you didn't fail. I wouldn't trade my time with you for anything in the galaxy." Anakin felt a tear roll down his cheek.

"Thanks, Snips," He said, the old nickname rolling off his tongue.

"Anytime, Skyguy."

The sun dipped low behind the skyscrapers, the brightest stars beginning to shine through the dusk. Anakin paced back and forth along the wall, keeping an eye on the city. He glanced over at Ahsoka, who was leaning against the wall by Fives and Jesse. They had called Obi-Wan earlier in the day. Nothing had happened in their bunker yet, either.

When the sun completely set, Anakin was planning on emptying the control room and calling Padme. He missed her so much. Sometimes, when he got bored on missions, Anakin would imagine the vast distance that lay between them. He had soon discovered that this practice made him feel astronomically worse. However, even now, he couldn't help but think about the billions of miles that separated them.

Anakin looked over at the city again. In the distance, a small tan shape appeared from behind one of the buildings. Anakin stopped in his tracks. Another shape appeared, then another.

"They're here!" Anakin called out. The troopers snapped to attention and scrambled to their battle positions. Ahsoka appeared by his side.

"As soon as they're in range," Anakin said, "fire at will. We need to keep them away from here at all costs."

The droid army marched closer and closer. Anakin spotted several super battle droids amongst the rest.

"Ready, Snips?" He asked.

"Ready," She said, smiling.

Ahsoka had a very distinct presence. When she walked into a room, you knew she was there. She would have made the perfect general, Anakin supposed, had she not left. Looking at her now, standing tall, grinning in the face of danger, Anakin was unbelievably proud of her.

The clones started shooting. The Droids shot back, but their blaster shots deflected harmlessly off the shield. Anakin watched with satisfaction as the droids fell one by one. However, more just kept coming.

Anakin squinted against the growing darkness, trying to make out the source of the droids.

Suddenly, the deflector shield in front of him disappeared.

"What the-" Ahsoka was cut off as Anakin pulled her behind a crate.

"Take cover!" Fives yelled. Several clones were shot down.

Anakin looked around wildly. What had happened? One minute the shields were there and then they weren't. The generator must have been destroyed, he thought, his eyes landing on the control room.

"I'm going to get the shields working," he said. "Lead them until I get back."

"Got it, Ahsoka replied. "I'll cover you."

They jumped out from behind the crate, Anakin sprinting towards the Control room. He reached the door and turned just in time to see Ahsoka duck back behind the crate. He ignited his lightsaber and deflected the blaster shots, glancing over at the control panel and tapping in the code.

He ducked inside the room, the doors closing behind him.

As soon as the doors closed, the room was plunged into silence. All three of the clones on duty lay dead on the floor of the control room, their blasters on the ground by the wall behind him. The shield generators were destroyed. One of the overhead lights in the room had a blaster hole through it, casting half of the room into darkness.

There was somebody in the chair facing away from him, obscured by shadow. All Anakin could make out was the silhouette of two Montreal. As a golden-skinned hand reached out and pressed a button on the console, the doors behind Anakin clicked, locked.

"It's about time. I was beginning to think that you weren't coming." The voice was cold; dripping with hatred. The chair began to turn slowly, the Togruta's face emerging from the shadows. A familiar face.

"Ovota," Anakin growled.

Ovota's face twisted into a wicked grin, the coldness in his eyes making him almost unrecognizable.

"Hello, Anakin," The villain said, an amused smirk playing on his lips.

"No, this can't be." Anakin refused, gripping his lightsaber.

"Can't it?"

"You said that you wanted to be a General!" Anakin insisted. "What about your parents? What about everything they worked for?"

"Worked for?" Ovota snarled. "They were slaves! Why would I want to be a part of the very thing that brought them to their knees? This war has brought nothing but pain and suffering to every planet in the galaxy. And for what? To keep a few systems from governing themselves? To maintain order?" Anakin scowled at Ovota. "And you," Ovota spat, "You are the pinnacle of everything that is wrong with the Republic. The Hero With no Fear," He sneered. "You call yourself a Jedi. A peacekeeper. Who have you protected? What peace have you kept? All you have done is wave around your saber and preach about justice. Just like you, the Republic is a disgrace. Like you, the Republic is rotting from the inside out. It is time for both of you to die."

"Ahsoka trusted you," Anakin growled. "How could you betray her?"

"That stupid girl trusts everyone. If she hasn't learned her lesson by now she never will."

Anakin entered an aggressive stance, raising his lightsaber to strike. Ovota calmly pressed a button on the console and Anakin was pulled backward forcefully by his metal arm, slamming his body against the wall. His lightsaber was wrenched from his hand as it, too, attached itself to the wall. A magnet.

Ovota stalked forwards, reaching towards Anakin's lightsaber. Anakin swung his free arm at Ovota with all of his strength. Instead of trying to block it, however, Ovota used the momentum of the strike to slam the hand into the wall. Anakin gritted his teeth in pain as he felt several bones in his hand break. Ovota slipped something metal over his wrist and his hand was stuck to the wall. The boy stuck a syringe into Anakin's neck and Anakin kicked at Ovota, who dodged his attack and pulled his lightsaber away from the wall. Whatever drug Ovota had used on him, it was working. Anakin could feel his strength draining by the second.

"You know," Ovota said, "I used to be that foolish, naive boy that you thought I was. The one who thought that the Jedi were heroes. I wanted nothing more to be one of them. The day that Kel Dor Jedi arrived, I was overjoyed. I thought that he was coming for me. I thought that he would lead me to a better life, one where I could bring balance to the universe. And then he took Ahsoka." Anakin tried to call upon the force, but he couldn't. His vision started to blur. "Since then," Ovota continued, "I've learned that there is no such thing as balance. Light and dark, order and chaos; they can never coexist. In the end, one will always snuff the other out. And at the end of all this, I will be the one who is still standing. Once I've dealt with you, I'll finally leave this godforsaken sand planet behind. I'm going to drop a bomb on Shili and turn it to glass. And once I'm done," He said, laughing darkly, "that Kel Dor Jedi is next."

Anakin tried to call out, but he couldn't speak. Ovota raised the lightsaber over his head, aiming to strike.

Cliffhanger!

I think that my one true talent is writing Villian monologues.

Did you see that twist coming btw? I've had that whole sequence planned out in my head for so long I stg