It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to your enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to your friends. - Albus Dumbledore
A/N: And we're back!
Ahsoka: Spent more time away from you guys, and I will admit, wasn't too bad.
A/N: Yeah, sorry. I was reading other stories, talking (PMing) to another author named VIGNA, catching up on our favorite TV shows, and both Ahsoka and I were training up our favorite and most loyal uruks in Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor for Xbox One! We'll be taking them to Shadow of War for Xbox One when we find out how to do that. Do any of you guys know? I mean like detailed instructions or even an easy-to-read website I can go to.
Ahsoka: My uruk is called Malmûg of the Black Gate. He's like, the RAREST uruk I could come across in the Nemesis Forge! He has pale white skin, leather sleeveless tunic, BIG ASS metal belt buckle, and spiky shin guards. Now I know what you're saying, "Those aren't rare traits for an orc in Shadow of Mordor, Ahsoka. Blah blah blah blah." Well what if I told you he was carrying two swords for human knights that died at the Black Gates? Yeah, not lying. He has a hate of pain, hate of ghouls, protected by a gang, invulnerable to ranged attacks, monster slayer and he's a combat master. I had to use stealth to get him in the green and even that took FOR-EV-ER.
A/N: And my guy is named Bûth the Judge. He has mostly metal armor with spikes and on the top of his helmet is a hand nailed there. He has battle hardened, invulnerable to ranged attacks, hate of Caragors, invulnerable to stealth, monster slayer, Deadly, poison weapon, and humiliator. His weapon looks like a tree limb with giant nails in it.
Ahsoka: When we take these to war with us… orcs, trolls, Mordor, The Nazgûl, and even Sauron will BOW TOO US! MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHA—!
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Intermission
Shows a "hang in there" cat poster.
Intermission
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Ahsoka: *Clears throat* Ok. Sorry about that. Got carried away there. Let's just… Let's just get back to the story. Shall we?
A/N: Let us shall.
Ahsoka: I don't think you said that right.
A/N: Shut up.
The Resolute was above the capitol planet of the Republic, Coruscant. The Twilight and a Republic Gunship with its blast doors closed exited the Resolute's hanger and headed down to the planet. Inside the Twilight was Anakin, Master Luminara, Barriss, Qill, Dent, R2, and Ahsoka. In the Gunship was Captain Rex, ARC Trooper Fives, Tup, and what was left of Qill's men.
Ahsoka and Anakin piloted the Twilight, Qill leaned on the wall with his arms crossed as he watched Ahsoka, and Luminara and Barriss stood in the back with Dent and R2.
"So, Dent." Barriss said. "What else can you tell us about the 'New and improved' Ahsoka?"
"Oh, where do I begin?" Dent said out loud.
"Why not start with the, 'Sith Stalker Armor'? You didn't tell us what it's made out of." Luminara suggested.
"Oh, well the claws, helmet, chest plate, ALL metal parts of the armor where made of Mandalorian iron." Dent explained. Luminara and Barriss' eyes widened. The metal parts of the armor were made from Mandalorian iron? That meant those parts of the armor were durable enough to withstand a lightsaber. "Now, since we had a limited amount of Mandalorian iron, the armor isn't 100% lightsaber proof. If the armor is hit with a lightsaber in the same spot too many times by a lightsaber that spot on the armor will eventually give out. And the leather is made from Gorog skin. Amazingly great for defense against blaster bolts, only slightly ok against lightsabers."
"How do you know so much about the materials for the armor?" Barriss said.
"You're looking at the bucket-of-bolts that placed the order for all that crap." Dent said while pointing one of his three fingers (his thumb) at himself. Luminara just smiled and shook her head while Barriss gave a small giggle. "But seriously, in my eyes, that armor isn't armor at all, it's a weapon of war."
"Well, perhaps this 'weapon of war' can help put an end to this war. And hopefully we can establish peace when the Separatist is defeated." Luminara said.
"Peace is a lie." Ahsoka said. Everyone looked at her wondering what the hell she was talking about. "There is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, I gain freedom. Through freedom, my chains are broken. The force shall free me." Ahsoka finished. The Jedi in the room were surprised to hear that.
"That was…" Qill trailed off.
"…The Sith Code?" Luminara finished. The Jedi looked at Dent.
"Why do you all look at me as if I have all the answers?" Dent said annoyed.
"Well. Do you have the answer for why Ahsoka knows the Sith Code by heart?" Anakin asked.
"Yes I do. It's the nanobots. Forgot to mention, but they also programed, no burned, the Sith code into her memory beyond removal. Sorry. She's stuck with it." Dent said. Anakin thought about that for a second. It would be strange, and it would probably take some time for her to not recite the Sith code whenever she hears the word 'peace'.
"We'll get used to it." Anakin finally said. Although he wasn't sure, it would be very strange and it'll seem like he was talking to a Sith, BUUUUUUT… She was still his padawan. He'll do his best to get used to it.
"We're coming up on the platform." Ahsoka said. And she was right. A few seconds later, they landed on the platform along with the gunship carrying the clones.
The Force sensitives, droids and clones all walked (or in R2's case, rolled) out of the ships and up to the small group that was there to welcome them. This little welcome committee was made up of Padmé Amidala, Chancellor Palpatine, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Master Yoda, Master Windu, C-3PO, several Senate Guards, and someone in the back that Anakin didn't recognize.
They all walked up to the greeting with Anakin, Qill, Barriss, and Luminara giving a small and respectful bow. All of the clones stood at attention, and Dent stood behind Ahsoka since he was a little nervous. Ahsoka didn't do anything but stood there, looking completely emotionless.
Palpatine had a kind smile on his face, while on the inside the Dark Lord had on a wicked smile. She looked even more intimidating in person! And he could feel her Force power radiating off of her like heat from a fire.
Yes. If Dooku would try and betray him again, then Ahsoka Tano would make a perfect replacement, once her nanobots were reprogramed to follow his command of course.
Right now, she would only follow Skywalker's orders and his alone. But that sparked another thought. If he could turn Skywalker to the dark side, then this monster, this… Weapon, will become his greatest servant.
"Anakin…" The Chancellor said in the type of tone that one would use when addressing a dear friend.
"Your excellency." Anakin said as a sign of respect. He stepped the side and Ahsoka stepped forward with Dent still hiding behind her. She gave a small bow to the Chancellor, even though she saw no reason to. Anakin was her one and only master, no one deserved her respect other than him.
"Yong Ahsoka… I am so sorry that this horrible fate had to befall you." Palpatine said while putting a hand on her shoulder. "I assure you, Count Dooku will pay for his crimes against the Republic, and his crimes against you." Ahsoka looked at his hand, then looked back at him. Even through the armor, his touch felt… Cold. Strange. "Ah, you must be the special Battle Droid that I've heard about. Dent, was it?" Ahsoka looked at the droid in question. He was still a little nervous.
"Um, y-yes sir. I'm Dent." He said. Dent was wishing that he could just hide behind Ahsoka some more. Palpatine gave the droid a kind smile.
"There's no need to be nervous. You're now a citizen of the Republic, so there is nothing to fear." Palpatine said. Even though Dent was a droid, the Sith Lord in disguise could still practically feel Dent's nervousness, and now confusion.
"Really? I'm a citizen? But, I'm just a droid." Dent said.
"Have you ever heard the phrase, 'All men are created equal.'? Well, man or not, I believe that your renouncement of the Separatist has made it clear that that phrase abides to you as well." Palpatine said. "And after you're reprogramed and your systems have been given the proper firewalls—"
"Oh, that's already been taken care of." Dent said.
"I'm sorry?"
"Ahsoka had already reprogramed me. I still have my old personality but I'm not loyal to the Separatist. And I now have 10 different firewalls installed into me. Guess those nanobots did more than I thought." Dent explained.
"Well, that's good to hear." Palpatine said. 'Damnit.' Palpatine thought. He was hoping to have the droid be reprogramed to spy on Ahsoka. Oh well, it wasn't even close to being a set back to his plans. It wasn't even like throwing a wrench into the cogs of his plans, it was more like throwing a toothpick into them.
While The Chancellor was busy, Obi-wan approached Qill and his men.
"Qill Zoroon?" Obi-wan said as he approached. Qill and the clones from his battalion. The clones stood at attention while Qill gave a small bow. "At ease troops."
"Master Kenobi. It's an honor." Qill said.
"Thank you. I'm sorry about your master." Obi-wan said. Qill looked down when he remembered, with all that's been happening he had forgotten about the death of his master.
"I guess that's why you're here? To assign me to someone else?" Qill asked.
"Yes. And I know it's a little sudden, being assigned to a new master so soon after your last master's death. But I'm actually looking forward to training you." Obi-wan said. It took a few seconds for Qill to register what the Jedi Master said.
"Wait. You'll be my new master?" Qill asked, there was some excitement in his voice that Obi-wan caught.
"Yes. I've been in thinking about taking on a padawan, and after what has happened for you, this could help out the both of us, as well as your clones." Obi-wan said.
"Us?" The clone commander asked.
"Yes. You'll all be reassigned to The 212th Attack Battalion. Is that understood?" Obi-wan asked.
"SIR YES SIR!" The ten clones replied.
Qill and his new master continued to chat while Anakin and Barriss looked on.
"Looks like Obi-wan finally got that new padawan he wanted." Anakin said. He looked to his left and saw Padmé staring at Ahsoka. She couldn't believe it. What have the Separatist done to her?
"Skywalker." Anakin turned around and saw Master Windu walking up to them with the person that Anakin didn't recognize.
He was human with had brown hair cut short with a padawan braid (kind of like the haircut that Anakin had before he became a Jedi Knight), he wore black, white and grey Jedi robes with black leather belts (A/N: It's the Jedi Adventure Robe from The Force Unleashed). He had blue eyes and a small but noticeable scar on his left jawline. He carried two light sabers but they both looked different from each other. One looked old and battle warn and had brown leather with a small green button and two leather cords covered with little beads, almost like a padawan braid. The other was made of brown and silver metal with three… Well, he wouldn't know how to describe those things but they were small and almost spike-like (A/N: look up A'Sharad Hett Saber and Revan's Last « Genesis Custom Sabers to get a good look at both.)
Something else that Anakin noticed about this kid was that he was probably no older than 17.
"Master Windu. Who might this be?" Anakin asked.
"This is Cornor Blattil. He's your new padawan." Windu said.
"What?!" Anakin and Padmé said at the same time.
"I'm not sure if you remember, but I already have a padawan." Anakin said.
"For the time being. She'll be knighted soon." Windu said. This confused Anakin and Padmé.
"What do you mean?" Anakin asked.
"Ahsoka will have to pass 5 test if she is to be knighted as a Black Knight."
"But, she's only 17." Padmé said.
"Padawans that were learning to become Black Knights were knighted when they were as young as 13. All she has to do is pass the 5 test and she will officially be a Black Knight. But you still need to train a padawan that won't become a Black Knight." Windu said. Cornor then stepped forward.
"And that's where I come in. It will be an honor to learn under you." Cornor said. Anakin thought for a moment. It would take some getting used to, but he could manage… Maybe.
"Alright. Thank you." Anakin said.
"We'll leave you to it." Windu said. He along with Obi-wan, Qill, Master Yoda, Luminara, and all the clones loaded into the gunship and went off. Palpatine walked up to them along with Ahsoka and Dent behind him and the Senate Guards behind them.
"Anakin, it's been good meeting up with you again, even for a short while." The Chancellor said.
"It has. Though I wish we could have talked a little more." Anakin replied. Palpatine smiled and nodded.
"As do I. Perhaps you should come by my office sometime this week so we could catch up. That is, if you don't receive any assignments from the council." He said.
"Of course." Anakin said as he gave a small nod.
"Now, if you'll excuse me. I think that I've put off my work long enough." Palpatine said. Him and the Senate Guards walked over to his transport and entered it.
"Alright." Padmé said. She looked at Ahsoka, Barriss and Dent. "Now let's go see your new apartment. It's only a mile away from mine, in case you ever want to visit, by the way." She said. They all walked over to the speeder and got in (A/N: It's the same kind of speeder that Cad Bane used in "Hostage Crisis"). They then made their way to the apartment.
*At the apartment*
Barriss was practically in awe at the sheer size of the place. It was basically a penthouse. It wasn't exactly the Jedi way to have such luxuries but… Could you blame here? Her bedroom's refresher and its Jacuzzi bathtub alone.
The apartment had three bedrooms, two refreshers, a big living room with a balcony that has a beautiful view, and it had its own little landing platform for speeders. The walls were painted white with a blue trim. The floor of the living room and all the refreshers had a blue carpet that went well with the walls. The kitchen was had brown hardwood floors and white marble counters. The fridge, oven, microwave, and dishwasher all made out of some neat-looking black metal.
"Whoa…" Dent said as he looked around while carrying two boxes full of Ahsoka's things from her old room from the Temple. Cornor carried two boxes as well but these only had Barriss' things. Anakin carried two suit cases the one in his right hand had Ahsoka's clothes and the one in his left had Barriss' clothes in it. "I could get used to this place." The droid said. Barriss couldn't agree more.
The Rodian land lady was a little weary around Ahsoka and Dent. So she kept her distance.
"Now, the monthly rent would normally be 12,500 credits," The land lady said. When Barriss heard the price she nearly had a heart attack. THEY COULDN'T AFFORD THAT! The land lady continued. "But, that's already been taken care of by Senator Amidala and Chancellor Palpatine. You have quite the friends." She said.
Barriss gave Padmé a thankful look. Padmé smiled and nodded.
"Now, am I'm I forgetting anything?" The land lady thought out loud. "…No, I think that's it." The Rodian lady gave Barriss the keys and left. There was a short silence in the room for a moment till Anakin spoke.
"Hey, Ahsoka. Maybe you should take off your helmet and gauntlets? Your skin could use some fresh air." Anakin said. He was lying though, he just wanted to see her face again and not that freaky mask. Dent was the same.
"Yeah. As long as you put your mask back on in two hours, you'll be fine." Dent said.
"Very well." Ahsoka said.
She first took off her left gauntlet. The leather sleeves stopped where the gauntlets began. Her entire left hand (they were guessing that it was actually her entire left arm) was wrapped up in white bandages stained blue and a sickly green, those bandages would have to be replaced. She then took off her right gauntlet. Almost her entire right forearm was mechanical (A/N: Look up Star Wars Robotic/Mechno-Arm by ammnra, it's a video on YouTube.). She then, finally, removed her helmet. When it was completely off, the others (minus Dent and Cornor) thought that they weren't looking at Ahsoka, but her ghost. Her skin was a much more pale color of orange, they could barely see her white facial markings. Her right eye was still blue. There was a small scar on her chin that went to her neck. And at the corner of her left eye there were several scars that stopped at her lekku. Like Dent said, her left eye was cybernetic, but its color wasn't blue, it was a golden yellow.
"How does my skin look?" Ahsoka said, her voice no longer distorted.
"It, um… Looks good. You might need to spend some time in the sun to get some color back. But it looks good." Cornor said. She didn't look the best.
*hours later, on the balcony of some building overlooking the city/planet*
Darth Sidious would not have called upon his personal assassin unless absolutely necessary. And this new monster that was once Ahsoka Tano was absolutely necessary. She was powerful, Sidious could feel it when he saw her on the platform. She could not be taken likely.
"So, do you understand your assignment?" Sidious asked, though he didn't need to. Oragon, or Darth Raeduus (Pronunciation: Raid-us) as he is called by his underlings and personal troops, never had to be told twice when it came to an assassination or mission.
"Do not mock me, Sidious. I understand the importance of your little, 'assignment' for me." Oragon said.
"Good. You attack her at her new apartment. She's probably asle—"
"I will not attack her now. I will observe her from a distance while she is on the battle field. But I will not engage her until she has become a full Black Knight." The cloaked Sith assassin said.
Out of the corner of Sidious' eye, he could see four of Oragon's personal troops. One was easily a foot taller than him. One of which that was silver with a split jaw could be two feet taller than him if it wasn't hunched over. Another one wearing some sort of blue jumpsuit was as tall as Padmé Amidala with a reptile like appearance, red spines on the top of its head that made it look like a mohawk. Its yellow eyes that were on either side of its head would make others think it was a Sith but Sidious could tell this thin wasn't Force sensitive. The last two were as tall as Ewoks, with some sort of big spike coming out of their backs, they had red eyes and their mouths looked like they had gasmask on.
"Observe her? Why not attack her now? It would be quite easy." Sidious said, trying to get the assassin to do as he says. This is the first time that Oragon disobeyed one of his 'request'.
"Don't try and manipulate me, Sidious. Remember, my TRUE master told me to just help you with your plans, that doesn't mean that I am your little puppet. Besides, I will be observing the girl to see if she is even worth my time. If not, then get your apprentice to capture her." Oragon remarked. Sidious growled at the mention of this secret master that Oragon had.
Oragon might as well be obsessed with him, whoever he is. Oragon talked about him like a god. This made Sidious mad because, A: There was some other Sith Lord out there that Sidious couldn't find and destroy so his plans can go off without a hitch. And B: It made it impossible to manipulate Oragon. If Oragon was so ferociously loyal to this unknown master, then Sidious couldn't sway him over to his side. The last time that Sidious suggested to Oragon about killing this master of his, Oragon Force choked Sidious for a good 30 seconds.
"Very well. Do as you see fit. But remember, as long as your master deems it necessary to 'help' me, then you'll do as I say." Sidious said. Oragon was not happy about that but it's the truth. He had to follow Sidious' orders, as requested by his master.
"When my master finally sees that you are useless to us…" Oragon then grabbed Sidious by the front of his cloak, raised him an inch off the ground and brought his face a few inches away from his. "I will enjoy killing you."
"…Yes, well, until that time…" Sidious said. Oragon slowly lowered the dark lord back to the floor. "I would suggest getting to work on observing your prey." Oragon merely turned around and walked away from his temporary boss. The four beings walked behind him.
Oragon was already thinking of ways to capture Ahsoka Tano.
A/N: Wow. That took longer than it should have.
Ahsoka: You said it.
A/N: Hey, I also wanted to talk to someone out there that made pictures for Deviantart. You see I was thinking of updating the story's cover image. But I couldn't find a picture I liked online and I don't know how to make things for Deviantart. So anyone out there that can make me a new pic just PM me and we can do business.
Ahsoka: Alright. That's about it. Oh, and for everyone who plays Shadow of War online. It's possible you'll run into our fortresses.
A/N: Yeah, and it will be heavily defended. So you would need to go through the gates if you want to enter.
Ahsoka: And if you want to get in through the gates… *She looks at GhostFang with a smile and he smirks in response. Then both of their heads whip around and face you Shadow of War players.*
Both GhostFang GF & Ahsoka: YOU SHALL NOT PASS!