Back! And I have one thing to say- Thank you, Pergjithshme! Without your "bugging" I'd probably still be working on this. (I'm really not lying when I say that reviews encourage me.) So, this chapter is dedicated to Pergjithshme. Enjoy, and thank you all for the reviews!


Ahsoka wondered if Vulptereens were naturally stupid or if the air on Vulpter had scrambled their minds. Either way, she had no problem convincing the other workers to tell her where the files of sold ships and droids were. She didn't know how much time she had before someone figured out what she was really up to.

Ahsoka narrowed her search down to "droids", then "custom made". There were still hundreds of droids that had been sold, so she typed in "assassin droids". Quickly, she scrolled through the list, looking for the droid that had attacked her.

She frowned as she noticed a familiar symbol beside one of the droids. What was the mark of the Senate doing on that droid? And more importantly- why was a Senator ordering assassin droids from a separatist factory? She knew that the Senate seal enabled a member of the Senate to order anything from anywhere with no questions asked, but she had not known that Senators would stoop so low as to order from the separatists.

Scrolling through the list, she found five more droids with the Senate seal on them. She had been disgusted by the corrupt people in the Senate, but this was more than corrupt Senators- this was almost treason.

Then she saw it- the droid that had attacked her. It was labled "1-B98" and had been made about two months ago. Six more just like it had been made at the same time.

Whoever sent that droid after me is probably a bounty hunter, Ahsoka thought. No one else would need that many assassin droids.

She clicked on the sales records of the droid and had just caught a glimpse of another familiar symbol when the computer shut down and the lights went out. The hum of a lightsaber split the air and Ahsoka whirled to face to door. She did a double-take when she saw who the assailant was.

"You!" she snarled.

Asajj Ventress stood in the doorway, lightsabers raised, a grim smile on her face. "Surrender now and I may not harm you."

"I take it that prison was not to your liking? I think you deserve the death penalty anyway," Ahsoka shot back. She pulled her lightsabers out of a hidden pocket in her tunic and assumed a ready stance, silently cursing her outfit. She pushed back her sleeves, then brought both lightsabers down toward Ventress, who stepped out of the way, then retaliated.

Ahsoka looked around wildly, parrying at high speeds. She couldn't keep this up and she was at a disadvantage. Her clothing prevented her from moving freely and Ventress was more talented with a lightsaber then she was.

She ducked a blade, then raced out the door and down the hallway as fast as she could go. She needed to find her Master.

How in the galaxy did Ventress escape from jail? And what is she doing here? She wondered, skidding into the hanger. She didn't know how far behind her Ventress was, but she needed time to warn Anakin, then get out of Arakyd's factory. She spotted him on the far side of the hanger. Ignoring the Vulptereen's shout of surprise at seeing her lightsabers, she halted in front of them and wheeled back to see if Ventress was behind her.

"What's wrong?" Anakin asked, coming up beside her. "Did you find anything?"

"Yeah," Ahsoka said breathlessly. "I found Ventress."

"What? She's here?"

The question was left unanswered as Ventress appeared in the doorway. Anakin activated his lightsaber, slowly moving toward the right. Ahsoka caught on immediately and stepped toward the left.

"You shouldn't have wasted your energy in breaking out of jail, Ventress," Anakin told her. "You'll be going back there anyway."

To Ahsoka's surprise, Ventress smiled. "Foolish Jedi," she said, just as an alarm sounded through the building. At the edge of her vision, she saw the Vulptereen slumped over a control panel, a red button just visible under his hands. Then workers came pouring into the hangar, weapons at the ready. When they saw the lightsabers, the air became thick with blasterfire. Instinctively, Ahsoka dove behind a stack of crates and saw that Anakin had done the same. There was a pale flash in the crowd of dark clothing and Ahsoka knew that Ventress had used the stampede to blend in. She was going to escape! Briefly, Ahsoka wondered why she would escape when she had come here to capture them anyway, but she couldn't dwell on that. The crates vibrated as countless blaster bolts slammed into them and Ahsoka knew they wouldn't last long. They needed to get out of there.

Anakin locked eyes with her from across the hanger. He glanced meaningfully toward the door, then held up three fingers. Ahsoka nodded, getting ready to run.

One...

Two...

Three!

At the same moment, both Jedi vaulted over the crates and leaped over the many Vulptereens that were crowded into the hangar. They hit the ground and started sprinting, the spray of blasterfire flying over their heads. She heard a few cries from behind them and knew that the deflected blaster bolts had hit a few workers. She winced, hoping she hadn't killed anyone. She avoided killing, if she could.

Ahsoka was tempted to stop so she could remove her boots- their progress would have been a lot smoother if she did- but halting would be fatal.

When they were metres from the exit, the doors began to slide shut. Anakin dove through the opening first and by the time Ahsoka reached the door, it was nearly shut.

What's the better way to die? A heroic death surrounded by enemies? Or death by a door?

"Come on, Ahsoka!"

Taking a breath, Ahsoka rolled under the door, her shoulder grazing the bottom. She quickly jumped to her feet and took off down the corridor after her Master. Minutes later, they had escaped the factory relatively unharmed.

"Okay," Anakin said. "Let's get back to the ship. I have a feeling that we aren't welcome here anymore."

"I really must insist that you stay," said a voice from above them. Ahsoka looked up in time to see the bald assassin leap from the roof and land in front of them, lightsabers at the ready.

"Surrender, Ventress," Anakin said coldly.

"I was going to offer the same option to you," Ventress said in a calm, light tone that fooled no one. "All I want is the Padawan, but I'm sure my Master can find a use for you as well."

"My Master?" Ahsoka thought. Hadn't Master Kenobi mentioned that Ventress hated Dooku now? Who was she working for?

"You must think a lot of yourself if you think could can take down both of us," Anakin replied, then attacked. Ahsoka had sensed what he would do a second before he moved and she struck at Ventress at the same time. The assassin blocked their lightsabers, then ducked Ahsoka's shoto and sent a vicious swipe in her direction. She had to admit that Ventress was an excellent fighter, but three blades were rather hard to block all at the same time. Anakin and Ahsoka worked as a team, using every flaw and opening in Ventress's defence that they could see to their advantage. They were driving Ventress down to the city... soon they would have her cornered...

But Ahsoka's hopes were soon dashed as various beings with blasters- guards, Arakyd workers, townfolk, and pilots and smugglers looking for a good fight- came swarming out of the city. She and Anakin had no chance against this many people, but she refused to surrender.

Run, Anakin told her through the bond. Meet me back at the ship when you can.

We're retreating? Ahsoka asked. They couldn't leave! Not now, when Ventress was here!

It's not retreating, Snips. It's called saving your life. Now run!

Ahsoka took off down a side alley, the whine of blaster bolts echoing in her ears. She used the Force to assist her in her leap onto a rooftop; she would be able to see her enemy better from the roof. She assumed she had shaken Ventress off her tail, as she was no where in sight, but she remained alert. Keeping both lightsabers in front of her and ready to duck at a moment's notice, she crept along the rooftops, to where she knew the ship to be. It was oddly silent...

Then she heard a commotion a few stores down. She bounded from one rooftop to the next until she reached the end of the street. Ahsoka found herself in what must have been the town square, only it looked more like one of the more seedier areas of Coruscant. Many of the buildings were cantinas and every one of the shops seemed grimy and dull.

Except for the shop at the far end of the square, which currently had a battle raging in front of it. She saw a blue blade weaving in and out of the sea of Vulptereens and hesitated. Anakin had told her to get to the ship... but even he couldn't fight the entire town by himself.

What happened to retreating? Ahsoka thought to herself as she sprang off that roof and onto the next one. Silently, she managed to make it all the way around the square without being seen. She dropped down directly behind her Master.

Fighting dozens of people at once, Anakin still managed to spare Ahsoka a glare. "I told you to get out of here!"

"You should follow your own advice," Ahsoka replied. "Because if you don't, what makes you think I'm going to?"

Anakin gave an exasperated sigh, then threw himself to the right in order to avoid an oncoming dagger. It thudded into the wood where his head had been seconds ago.

"Don't you think it's time to leave?" Ahsoka asked, scanning the square for an escape route that wouldn't get them killed.

"If we can get around all these people, we can leave through that alley over there," Anakin said in a low voice, gesturing with his lightsaber. He blocked three shots in rapid succession, then stiffened.

"Move!" he shouted to her.

Ahsoka went to take a step backward but tripped in her overlarge boots. She stumbled, then felt something lift her off her feet. She flew through the air and hit the ground on the other side of the square, rolling for several feet before sliding to a stop. She sprang to her feet, noticing that the Vulptereens had stopped firing and had gathered in a circle around something.

Oh no...

Once again using the rooftops as her cover, she managed to find her way around the square until she could see what the Vulptereens were looking at.

It was Anakin.

He was lying face-down on the ground, but Ahsoka couldn't see any blood or marks on him, which suggested that he had only been stunned. Horror coursed through her as she realized that he had taken the stun blast meant for her. He had Force-pushed her out of the way and the stunner had hit him instead. How could she have let that happen?


Ventress stepped around the corner and made her way through the crowd. She looked disdainfully down at Skywalker. The Vulptereens made no move to attack- they knew she was on their side. She frowned to herself. Skywalker was not the one she had meant to stun. She had wanted the Padawan. What now?

The answer came quickly. What else would she do with a prisoner of war?

She would break Skywalker as she had broken Kenobi and lure the Padawan to her at the same time.

Ventress directed two Arakyd workers to bind Skywalker and bring him to her ship. She called his lightsaber to her with the Force, then strode from the town square.


Anakin awoke in pain. His head ached, as did his torso where the stunner had hit him. Where was Ahsoka? Where was he?

He took stock of his surroundings. He was being held in a small room, lit only by the energy of the containment field he was trapped in. Whoever had brought him here was no were in sight.

The thought had just crossed his mind when the door opened and Ventress stepped in.

"Ah, Ventress," Anakin said conversationally, though his mind was whirring. "Your hospitality is terrible."

Ventress didn't answer, but simply held up a remote. A second later he was hit with pain so intense it felt as if his nerve endings were on fire. He bit his lip to keep from screaming... he wasn't going to give Ventress that satisfaction. But he was surely going to black out from the pain and he wished unconsciousness would come faster...

But the pain dimmed and he was still awake. He fixed Ventress with his best death glare, which admittedly, wasn't great, considering how weak he felt.

Ventress circled him. "I do not have the patience to endure your chatter," she said coldly, though as she walked in front of him, Anakin saw a sadistic smile on her face. She was enjoying this greatly.

"What do you want from me?" Anakin asked tightly as she continued to walk around him.

"I already have what I want," Ventress replied. "You see, what I really require is your Padawan, as she carries half of the nexus route. But you will do nicely as bait. The bond that you and your Padawan share will enable her to feel everything that you are feeling. I daresay that will be enough... motivation for her, don't you?"

Anakin twisted around in his restraints as he stared at her. She was going to use him to get to Ahsoka! Normally when he was captured, he made sure to close the bond so Ahsoka wouldn't be able to feel it if he was tortured. Now he would be unable to.

Ahsoka... he thought, hoping she could hear him. Close the bond.

Master! came her immediate reply. Where are you? Are you okay?

I won't be for long... I need you to close the bond.

Why?

The burning, unbearable agony hit him once more. Again, he fought the screams that threatened to burst from his mouth. He shut his eyes against the pain, then fell limp against his restraints as it ceased.

That's why.


Please review! Like I said before, they motivate me greatly!