Ha! It worked. I fooled myself into thinking it would take 2 months to write this, but it took a little less than a month. Take that, me! I suck and I rule!
On that note, this chapter was so hard to right, it's almost unholy. There might be a little confliction, but hopefully I fixed that up.

Darkest Days
Chapter 8
A Touch of Evil

"Empire?" I asked, beside myself with a mixture of confusion and "how-come-this-stuff-always-happens-to-us?"

"Yep. Scope did a little recon. Turns out, there's an Empire garrison a couple of clicks from our position. He also found some Anti-Orbital guns upon further investigation. Assuming they think the crew survived the landing, they're probably looking for us."

"Have they discovered you yet?" I asked, concerned for their safety. Okay, I'm lying. I'm just curious.

"No."

"Good, then we still have time. Tell Gidget to get that ship repaired ASAP. As soon as it can fly, get to our position. We have to get off this planet as soon as possible, preferably without them knowing of our presence."

"Why can't you walk back here? It'll be stealthier."

"Well….." I began without thinking things through. She looked at me with irritation, an emotion I've come to recognize on her many times.

"You lost Ahsoka, didn't you?"

"It's not my fault this time! She wandered off into the swamp with that freaky Karelia girl."

"Well find her, damn it! We don't have—Wait, who?"

"Oh, you know that message where someone controlled the rebel corpse like a puppet?"

"Yeah?"

"Found the puppet master. Her name's Karelia. She's young, insane, and a former Jedi like Ahsoka."

"Oh." She said, following with a short, but stiff silence between us. "Is that a… good thing?"

"Doubt it. She doesn't seem like the kind of person who would want to have a nice conversation in a dark swamp. Probably wants to kill her for some psychotic reason."

"Oh… that sucks."

"Yes, it does… All right, so you'll—"

"—tell Gidget to get her ass in gear. Got it."

"Good. See ya then."

"Bye." With that, the transmission cut and I was left to my own thoughts. It's not that I don't like Ahsoka and want her to die. It's just that going to look for her in this place is irrational and not a smart move. I could be attacked by Nexu or angry Dugs or… Mud Maggots. Damn those things. Poor Ahsoka will have to fend for herself and try to survive. If she doesn't…

"Oh well. Life goes on." I said to myself as I walked away from the burned out campfire to go find that Speeder Fenri was talking about. Maybe I can go repair it myself and save time.

"Well… except for her, maybe." I finished, almost against my will.

Into the swamp the two girls went, one girl more reluctant than the other. She saw every disadvantage in this. She didn't know Karelia's skill ability (or intention for that matter), she was clueless to the land around her, and she didn't know how to retaliate should Karelia decide to do the thing Ahsoka assumed she would do.

"Where are we going?" Ahsoka asked the pale girl.

"Nowhere important." She replied in an ominously giddy manner, as if she were completely unaware of the looming darkness around her.

"What do you want to talk to me about?" Was her next question. Karelia again seemed uninterested by it but this time face the Tortuga, annoyance barely noticeable on her shadow-shrouded face.

"We can't just talk?" She asked, head slightly titled to the side. "I figured you'd want to have a nice conversation since you look so stressed." She turned and began walking again. Ahsoka grit her teeth, but calmed herself and decided to shift the conversation to a topic that bugged her more.

"Your speech sounds so much better. Were you faking it the whole time?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you do. Fragmented sentences? Frantic muttering—"

Karelia suddenly stopped, interrupting Ahsoka, and stood still. Next time she spoke, she didn't even bother faking the happy tone that was apparent on her voice earlier. Instead she added a much more sinister and malicious tone.

"Ah, I see you've met the Other Karelia." With just that, she began walking again, leaving a perplexed Ahsoka in her place.

"Other… Karelia?"

"The other half of my mind to be exact." She ceased walking and took a seat on a large boulder, stretching herself and sitting in an informal manner. "You see, dear Ahsoka, my mind has been traumatized enough to be involuntarily split in two due to the tragic events that are Order 66, or the Jedi Massacre, if you wish."

Ahsoka was dumbstruck at all this, but still managed to find the next words.

"H-how?"

"That I cannot tell you. I'm not good with that kind of thing. It just… happened, for lack of a better phrase. I remember the very moment: Asleep in my room, I awoke to the sound to laser fire and screams. Before I could even comprehend what was going on, my friend rushed into my room. A Tortuga like you, her name was Aldeema. She was my very best friend. She told me what was happening, and fast as we could, we made for the entrance. Mere feet away from freedom, we were stopped by a clone trooper."

Ahsoka let in a huge breath of air, realizing she forgot to breathe. Karelia noticed this, and let out a little giggle resembling a girl half her age. To her own surprise, Ahsoka blushed at that.

"Anyways, without any weapons we didn't stand a chance. Well… she didn't stand a chance. She was shot—no, scratch that, riddled with holes right in front of me."

"How did you survive?"

"Didn't. Got killed." The girl laughed a small bit before realizing she was the only one doing so. She regained her composure and moved on.

"A nearby Jedi decapitated the trooper before he shot at me, allowing me to run off. Alone for maybe 2 months, I wandered the planet and had plenty of time to do plenty of thinking, remembering and crying. Thinking about why this happened, remembering the corpses of my friends and my friend being shot down and crying over what I did to deserve this. I was not in good condition. One day, I was trying to get off the planet, so I stowed away on the first ship I could find. An Ambassador's ship going to Telos IV, if I remember right. Next thing I know, I fell asleep. Don't remember waking up. Everything was blackness until I found myself on another planet with a stolen blaster in my hand. After a few more times where I found myself in an unfamiliar situation without remembering anything I began to get a little suspicious, but ignored it for a couple years. Big mistake.

"I paid a visit to a medical clinic when it got so bad I was afraid to go to sleep. He ran a test on me and told me that my mind was repressing trauma to the point where it just split in half. I developed a split personality disorder. One side is the girl who just simply refused to believe that that massacre even happened and lived her life in a haze of denial, which was rather harshly broken by some poor fool who was later found in pieces in the engine of a ship. Since then, she's just become a ghost of her former self."

"Which side are you?" Ahsoka asked. Karelia looked offended.

"I am that side."

"Then who-?"

"The other Karelia is just a poor girl who's just been beaten down and broken, but still tries to move on with her life. She wandered here and found this place herself. The girl who never left 8 years old."

"Who's the more dominant side?"

"She is, as of recently. I just stopped bothering to fight back. She's happy here and I want to keep her happy. She is me, after all. You see that, right dear Ahsoka?"

"Yeah, I can- Wait. How do you remember my name if you talked to me as… Other Karelia?" She practically had to force that last part out of her mouth. "Didn't you say you black out during those phases?"

"We both remember our Temple days, espessially you. Everyone talked about you. Ahsoka Tano, padawan of the great Anakin Skywalker. The same Skywalker who became Darth Vader. The same Skywalker who ordered the Clones to kill not just the Jedi, but my best friend. Do you see where I'm going with this?"

Shit. I think I do. Ahsoka heard herself think, but decided against saying anything and letting the girl finish by just nodding. Instead, she checked to make sure her saber was still at her side. When she felt nothing, she panicked for a split-second before remembering it was in her boot.

"That's why I lured you out here."

Lured? Ahsoka thought as Karelia finally lost her false joyful expression and looked towards Ahsoka with pure and utter malice.

"I'm not sure what role you had in turning Skywalker to the dark, but I know damn well you had something to do with it." She hissed through her teeth. She got to her feet and glared at Ahsoka. "Because of you," She pointed at the girl, "Everyone I know and love is gone. My best friend is dead! I'm nothing but a fucking street rat with memories of the bloody corpses of my friends and my home up in flames on one side of my mind and total blackness on the other thanks to you!" The intensity and anger, along with shakiness, of her voice increased with each passing word. She looked as if she would either attack Ahsoka in feral rage or break down in tears by the time she was done talking.

"But I didn't do any of that, you little psychopath!" Ahsoka countered, not at all regretting the insult spat out in anger. "You really think I would do something like that? The Jedi were my friends, too! It's all Vader's fault. And still, if you look past him, there's the Emperor that corrupted him in the first place. Take your rage out on him! Or… Vader's wife, Padme. Spit on her grave if you want to, but why are you taking it out on me? I wasn't even at the Temple during the massacre!"

"Where were you anyways?" She asked, voice toned down marginally. Ahsoka was caught off-guard by the question and had to think before she answered. Neither girl liked the answer that came out of the Tortuga's mouth.

"Padme's." Immediately after her forced answer, she heard a familiar hiss. Karelia had activated her lightsaber.

"Wait!" Ahsoka yelled, desperate to avoid any conflict. "Don't forget about your teachings! Jedi never attack in hatred. Do you really want to forsake the legacy you lost?" Karelia smirked.

"Good thing the Jedi are dead." With that she went on the attack, blade aimed for Ahsoka's neck.

Again, expect the next chapter in two months. *Wink*
I am also in the concept of developing a story for the Powerpuff Girls. Hopefully, It'll be as good as this story. If anyone reading is a fan of the PPG's, keep on the look out for it.
~Lit.