Chapter 54 – Odessen
Author's Note: Welp. There will be quite a few in-between chapters before we get back into canon-ish stuff. :) But that just means that we get to focus on Theseus and his life. :D
Also, there will be a number of time skips. The story makes clear how much time has passed, but just keep that in mind. ^-^
To Jayden: Well, Athea's relationship with Vader is... complicated. He's trying to sever all ties with his past, but at the same time, he does trust her, at least as much as he can when they're both Fallen. Lol. She'll be around in the future, not as a major character, but at a minor one. I make no promises about her future, though. :) We couldn't kill Anakin like ever. He's our favorite character, and he has a very important role to play if the galaxy is ever to find peace. ^-^ Given how differently things unfolded, he will be... quite different, in many ways, than his canon self, and I guess only time can tell what that means. :D
To Undella14: Yeah, Athea's fate is a little sad. She lost herself by giving into the Dark Side, and she probably could be a very powerful Sith Lady if not for... well, what she did. Remember how she healed Caleb using the Dark Side? Yep. Well, there were consequences for that. Consequences which will be explained in due time. ;)
Thank you all so, so much for reading and reviewing! Ngl, I really look forwards to y'all's reviews on this fic. 💖💖💖
~ Amina Gila
The fact that Ahsoka left the Order turns out to be a lifesaver. She's the only one who knows how to go about life outside the Temple or the Grand Army. Theseus and Rex have never had any such experience, and they're both completely lost.
Once they were able to find a way off the planet they'd crashed on, they go to Odessen. It's a quiet planet, which is what they need right now. To stay hidden from the newly formed Empire until they recollect themselves and figure out what to do and where to go. There is no safe place for any of them, not anymore.
The Empire hasn't reached Odessen yet, so hopefully they'll be safe here. They find a place to stay, at least temporarily, but obviously they'll need more credits to do anything long term. Which thankfully, Ahsoka has some idea how to go about getting, because Theseus has no clue how you find a job in the world beyond the Temple.
The reality of everything is just starting to catch up with Theseus, and he has no idea how to deal with it. Everything and everyone he knew is gone. It feels unreal, but he senses the emptiness in the Force, and he doesn't dare think of what happened to those at the Temple. He has no idea how it could have been overrun, but the entire galaxy feels dark.
"I don't think we should stay here," Rex comments, as the three sit in the room they're staying in.
"Where else would we go?" Theseus inquires. "We can't go back to Coruscant."
"Not when everything is in so much chaos," Ahsoka agrees.
"With what the Empire has done, we should be fighting. For the Republic."
"I agree," Ahsoka states firmly.
"We're just three people here," Theseus objects. It's not that he doesn't want to fight back; it's called practicality. Besides, he doesn't know if he's ready for that. All he can feel right now is the Dark Side calling to him more strongly than it ever has before, and if he starts fighting, he'll have to draw on it again. He doesn't want to accidentally Fall, especially not now. He knows what the Dark Side can do to people, and it's not a risk he wants to take. "There's not much we can do alone."
"There has to be other people out there, resisting," Ahsoka declares firmly.
"How would we find them?" Theseus objects.
"I don't know," the Togruta admits, "But I don't want to sit back and do nothing."
"I'm not ready to leave yet," Theseus confesses, finally. "I know we should keep fighting but I can't. Not right now. I... I'm having a hard time re-finding balance."
Rex looks a little lost, but he knows Ahsoka understands. She used to be his best friend and even if he doesn't usually talk about this to anyone, there's too much going on for him to try and keep everything in right now.
Ahsoka grimaces, reaching over and laying a hand on his arm. "I know," she murmurs, quietly.
Theseus reaches up, taking her hand in his. They were best friends their entire lives, and it's ironic how when his path separated from everyone else, it seems to have led him back to her again. A wave nearly intolerable pain stabs through him at the thought, and he's hard pressed not to let the Dark Side in fully, let it turn his pain into anger. If he let it in that much, he's afraid he'd lose control completely, and that's the last thing they need. "I just need some time," he admits, at last.
"I understand that," Rex responds, at last.
"I don't understand," Ahsoka states, after a moment, "Who is this Darth Sidious controlling all the clones?"
"All we know is that he's the one we're supposed to take orders from unquestionably," Rex replies.
"He's obviously someone important," Theseus points out, "Maul was mentioning that he controls everything in the shadows. Did you see him?"
"He had a hood on," Rex replies, "But he was familiar."
Ahsoka frowns. "You think you know who it was?"
"I do," Rex concedes.
"Who?" Theseus queries.
"He reminded me much of the Chancellor," Rex admits, "And it makes sense now that he is the Emperor of the galaxy."
Theseus swallows hard. Yes, it does. It makes too much sense. He doesn't know how Palpatine could be Sidious, how the Jedi could have been blind to the Sith being right there on Coruscant all these years but – Actually, yes, he does. The same way they managed to blind to Barriss' Fall. The Jedi long since their lost their way and this is what happened. And he never did anything in time. He was supposed to help Anakin, and now... Where is he? What happened to him?
And, Theseus realizes, with sudden growing horror...
"Long since groomed for his role as Sidious' new apprentice."
Anakin was close with Palpatine. He had a very personal relationship with him, and...
Suddenly, all he can remember is the emotions he felt from Anakin right before their bond abruptly went dark, too shielded for him to tell if it's even still there or not. At least in the privacy of his own mind, he wonders for a fleeting moment...
What if Sidious' plans worked? What if Anakin did Fall?
He has no idea but, somewhere deep inside, he's certain Anakin is still alive. It's not likely that something that didn't kill Theseus and Ahsoka would have killed him, and Anakin does know when it's time to make a strategic retreat.
He doesn't know what happened to his brother, but if he's still out there, Theseus is going to find him. Someday.
**w**
Ahsoka sprints through the dark tunnel, water splashing around her as she goes. Her heart pounds wildly, and she ducks around another corner, more blaster shots ringing out from further down the tunnel.
The clones were just supposed to be arresting her before, but now she's pretty sure they're trying to kill. And she doesn't even have her lightsabers here with her!
Ahsoka takes off down another corner, ducking as a blaster shot goes off literally right behind her. How did the clones catch up with her already?!
She tries to increase her speed, but abruptly slips in the water and goes sprawling head first right into it. Another shot rings out, and she rolls away purely on instinct, as the blast tears into the ground right where she was seconds before.
Frantically pushing herself up, Ahsoka looks up right into Rex's face. He stands over her blasters raised, a look of grim determination in his eyes as his finger moves to pull the trigger. "Rex, wait!" she protests frantically, "This isn't you! You're being controlled."
He doesn't respond, and fires.
Ahsoka lashes out, or tries to, but the next thing she knows she's jolting upright in her bed and – and Rex is standing right next to it. She reacts purely on instinct without thinking, punching wildly at him. He lets out a startled exclamation, as he falls onto the floor.
Ahsoka draws in a shaky breath, heart still pounding wildly as she looks frantically around the room. Right. Right. She's here, at the tiny home with Theseus and Rex. Not running away from the clones. They already took out Rex's chip. It was just a nightmare.
And she literally just punched him in the face for trying to wake her up out of it.
"Rex?" Ahsoka calls, scrambling off the bed as the captain is slowly standing up. He's probably going to have a black eye from that, "Sorry! I, uhh..."
"You were having a nightmare, I know," Rex says, not sounding terribly bothered, thankfully, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," she sighs, looking around the room again, to remind herself that yes, she's here, quite safe from Order 66. She doesn't want to go back to sleep right now, though. "I'm just going to... go to the main room for a bit. You can go back to sleep."
"I'll come with you," Rex decides but from how tired he looks, she has to wonder if he wasn't awake from a nightmare as well. Hopefully not something like the reverse of hers.
"Are you alright?" she inquires, heading out of the bedroom for the main room. The house is small. There's three tiny bedrooms – or at least they're bedrooms now – a kitchen and dining room combined, and another side room which they use to store things for their jobs at the nearby mechanic's shop.
"Yes, I am," he says rather unconvincingly.
Ahsoka tenses for a moment at the sudden movement in the darkness, only to realize that it's Theseus. He looks like he was meditating, or at least trying to, because he opens his eyes and moves to stand, as they step into the room. This time she doesn't even bother to ask if he's alright. It's pointless.
None of them are alright, and she frankly doubts they will be again. Everything and everyone they knew is gone, except for each other. A Sith is ruling the galaxy, and all of Rex's brothers are mind-controlled slaves to him. And as far as she knows – even if it's unlikely – they're the only Jedi still alive. Well, Theseus is the only Jedi still alive, because she technically isn't one.
And Anakin –She still can't bring herself to think about him.
"Trouble sleeping too, I presume?" Theseus asks.
She nods, taking a seat on the floor. The other two join her.
No one speaks for several long minutes. There really isn't much to say. "I don't see how no one saw this coming," Ahsoka murmurs finally, staring blankly at the wall. She can't believe that she's going to have to live in a galaxy like this forever, because no matter how things can improve from here, nothing will be like it once was. For a moment, she longs for the past almost hard enough to take her breath away, for things to be normal, like before she left the Order.
"I think they did," Theseus replies, numbly, "But no one believed it until now."
"I often wondered what would happen to us once the war was over," Rex speaks up, "I never expected it would be this."
"No one did," Theseus says, "I sensed an approaching darkness for a long time, but there was so much going on with the war and everything. I didn't really think about it again until what Maul said."
"And I was too carried away with everything." Guilt twists inside of Ahsoka as she thinks about it, even if she knows it's probably misplaced. "Maybe if I'd stayed, things would be different." She doesn't know. Maybe they could have done something about Anakin. At least she would know what happened to him.
"I don't know if it would've mattered. Not when it's on a scale of this magnitude, anyway," Theseus replies.
"I don't know," she mumbles, miserably.
She doesn't know what they could've done differently, if anything. She doesn't know if it would even have made a difference.
In the end, it doesn't really matter, does it?
The galaxy as she knew it is gone forever. She can't go home, ever, and no regrets will change that.
**w**
It ought to be nothing but another normal day, but Ahsoka can't get her mind off of things from the past as she tries to focus on fixing the various speeders in front of her.
It's been a couple months now, and... All she can think about is Anakin. Everything she's doing here is reminding her of her master.
She remembers him teaching her a lot of these things, things that she'd never know how to do if not for him. Theseus learned plenty of it from him as well.
She can't do this. She can't keep hiding out here, as though the galaxy itself isn't crumbling around her.
Anakin would never want her to run and hide when she could do something about it. She should be doing what he would be. (Or what he is doing. Pretending that he's still alive is probably only going to make things more painful in the long run, so she tries not to think about it at all.)
Leaving isn't something they've spoken about again after those first several days, but... She can't sit back and watch anymore.
Ahsoka waits to mention anything, of course, until the three of them are back at their tiny home.
"Something on your mind?" Unsurprisingly, Theseus notices her distractedness almost immediately.
"Yes," she admits.
"What is it?"
"I've been thinking about everything," she declares, "And I can't stay here anymore. We should be fighting. It's what Anakin would have wanted."
Pained looks flicker across Rex and Theseus' faces at the mentioned name. "I agree," Rex asserts, quietly, "Even if the General isn't with us, we can fight for what he would have supported."
"Theseus?" Ahsoka asks, turning to him.
He seems awfully quiet. "I'm not ready for that," Theseus says, after a long moment, "But I agree with you. We shouldn't just sit back. Or you shouldn't."
"What are you saying?" she frowns, suddenly wary.
"You and Rex can go," Theseus replies, "I'll join you, eventually. When I'm ready."
Ahsoka swallows hard. "You're proposing we separate?"
"I don't want to," Theseus admits, "But if it's the only way..."
She doesn't know why suddenly all she can remember is Theseus' last words to her before she left the Order, about how he thought they would always do everything together. But in the end, sometimes it seems their paths separated a long time ago. "I don't want to leave you here, either," she murmurs.
"We can take a few days to think this over, for certain," Theseus proposes at last, "We don't have to decide right now."
Somehow, though, Ahsoka is certain she already knows what all three of them are going to decide.
**w**
Theseus knew this moment was going to come eventually.
He just doesn't see why it feels like he's losing everyone. Within moments, Ahsoka and Rex will be gone, and then he'll be here all alone.
But he can't leave with them. Maybe he should, but he isn't ready for that. Not yet. He will at some point, but right now, it feels so pointless, like nothing they do will make a difference. And he wouldn't be able to focus properly on the fight, either, not when he's so lost in his own emotions.
He's way too close to Falling. It's been a while, but he still hasn't managed to rebalance himself again. Not yet.
It's going to take time, and he won't put the galaxy at risk because of him.
That doesn't make this goodbye any easier, though.
Ahsoka and Rex finally finish loading the few possessions – practically nothing, honestly – that they have. They're taking their time with them, stopping at the bottom of the ramp for the last time.
"See you later, Rex," Theseus states, forcing a smile. He thinks it looks more like a grimace, "And good luck."
"You too, Commander. It will be good to work with you again in the future, if you ever want to join us," Rex says. They got to know each other much better now, but their relationship is still quite formal.
It's nothing like how he was with Cody. (Is Cody even alive? Did Obi-Wan kill him? Did he kill Obi-Wan?)
"I will," Theseus promises, "Someday."
Rex nods, and then turns, disappearing up the ramp into the ship.
R7 beeps a goodbye, and rolls onto the ship after Rex, leaving Theseus and Ahsoka alone. BD beeps in disappointment.
"You will?" Ahsoka asks, moving closer, until she's standing in front of him. She doesn't look any happier than Theseus is feeling, but she's hiding it well. She's so much more controlled than before she left the Order.
"Of course. Do you really think I could stay out of the fight forever?"
"No," she concedes with a ghost of a smile, "But are you sure you want to stay here? Will you be alright?"
"I think I should be asking you that," Theseus points out, "You're the one who's going to start a rebellion."
"And you'll be here all alone. How will you find us again, if we're going to be out there in hiding?"
"I don't know, but I'll figure something out." Theseus steps closer, taking her hand. "I know we'll see each other again."
He can't say how he knows that; he just does. They won't be separated forever, even if it will be for a long time.
"I'm going to miss you," Ahsoka says, quietly.
"I'll miss you too," he utters.
She abruptly steps closer, wrapping her arms around him, an embrace which he instantly returns.
"Wait, before you go, I have something for you," Theseus murmurs, when they pull apart. He slips a hand into his pocket, withdrawing his padawan braid. The second one that he lost. He had to cut it off if they were going to hide out here. It was too obvious of an indication that he was a Jedi, and in truth, there was no point keeping it now that the Jedi are gone. And so is his master.
In the end, it seems that he was always destined to never finish his padawanship and become an actual Jedi Knight. To be fair, he never felt like he truly belonged as one either, but it had been what he worked for his entire life.
Reaching out, he places the braid in her hand. Somehow, it almost feels like his last connection to the past, to his life as a Jedi, and he's about to give it away. If his braid belongs with anyone, though, it's with Ahsoka. She's the one who was with him this entire time, his whole life as a Jedi, up until a little less than a year ago. It feels... fitting, that this is the last thing he gives her.
For a moment, Ahsoka doesn't seem sure what to say. "Keep it," he tells her.
"I'll take care of it," she promises, and he nods.
"May the Force be with you."
"And you." Ahsoka slowly steps back, slipping the braid into her pocket, "Take care of yourself, okay? If I come back here some time, I want to see you in one piece."
"Yeah, or when I come to find you, I also want to see you in one piece. So don't get into trouble."
"That's a given, considering what I'm doing."
"How consoling," Theseus deadpans.
"I'll be careful," she promises, "So I guess this is goodbye."
He nods, suddenly finding himself at a loss for words. This is it. It's time for her to go. And after that he has no idea what will happen, but it will be up to him to figure out alone.
He watches as she heads up the ramp, disappearing from sight. Moments later, the ship takes off, flying up into the sky. He's still standing there watching the sky, long after it disappears from sight.
There was so much more he could have – should have said to her, and it feels like a part of him is missing. It is, though. A part he'll never be able to get back, because the life he used to live is gone.
**w**
Theseus has never been alone before. Not in the way of having lost his home with no hopes of getting it back, without any of the people he used to know. He's accustomed to being a center of attention, to being well-known and surrounded by those he trusts. This is different. Now, he has to do his best to remain hidden, unnoticed. Drawing attention is dangerous. He knows how to be stealthy, but not in his every mode of living for an extended period.
In truth, BD is probably the only thing keeping him sane.
"I don't know how to keep moving," Theseus admits with a sigh.
"Do you need to recharge?"
Theseus smiles faintly, in spite of himself. "Something like that."
"We can infect the Empire with a virus."
Oh, if only it was that simple. "You can't really do that to a... concept, the same way you can a droid," he tells him dryly.
"We could deactivate the Emperor!" BD offers cheerfully.
"Well, I would've gone with Ahsoka if I thought that was practical," he admits. They can't just randomly walk in and attack the Sith Emperor. Besides, even if they did – which would never work because they aren't nearly powerful enough – then what? That won't automatically change the galaxy's mind about wanting an Empire. Nor will it necessarily change the Jedi's status as traitors. If anything, it might make it worse.
"We can rebuild some Jedi!"
Theseus tries very hard not to facepalm. At least the stupid conversation is cheering him up, even if BD's bright ideas don't make a grain of sense. Not that he's going to tell the droid so in those words.
"Organic beings are... manufactured a little differently than droids, unfortunately," Theseus informs him.
"Oh," he replies sadly.
Theseus reaches out, resting a hand on the top of the droid's... sort-of head. For a moment, he thinks back to the days on Coruscant when he would visit Vraz. It's been so long since all of that happened. But he'll be forever grateful to the Twi'lek for everything he taught him, and for giving him BD. Without the droid, he's not sure how he'd even be alive.
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