Chapter 1 - Finding

Plot: The mission to Ringo Vinda spirals downward when Tup tries to kill Luminara and Ahsoka confronts, and is injured by, Dooku's unknown assassin, called the Acolyte. There is a conspiracy involving the clones, and Anakin will do anything to uncover it when it means protecting the only people he has had left since Obi-Wan's death many months ago. (Winter Soldier AU)

Author's Note: This was written for Lassie for the 2023 May 4th Disaster Lineage Appreciation Exchange! :D

~ Amina Gila

Ringo Vinda is one of the worst battles Anakin has fought in... a long time. It's lasted weeks already. Felucia and Mon Cala were bad, as was the situation on Onderon, though Ahsoka was still a padawan then, and she'd been there alone. And Lola Sayu, though no one talks about that. Ever.

(Rex has pictures of all five leading members of the 501st together when times were still happy. Anakin has seen it before. He does, too. He keeps it under his pillow even though he never looks at it, because Obi-Wan would be disappointed if he knew Anakin was so attached to someone who's dead – one of the clones he lost, who he was always closest with. Not as if Anakin's not still attached to Obi-Wan himself.)

Anakin has had the distinct feeling that something is wrong, that something is happening since they came here. It's Ahsoka's first mission as a Jedi Knight, and his own as a Jedi Master. It's... an unusual change, though even so, they're working together with Jedi Master Luminara Unduli.

He's felt something dark here. It's elusive, like a shadow, but still present. Still... disconcerting. And it's stronger now. Something is wrong.

Even so, they have to keep pressing forwards.

Ahsoka and Artoo are working on pulling up a holomap of the base they're storming.

Anakin turns to check over the clones, mostly to make sure Fives isn't getting too relaxed or about to do something stupid, when he senses a strange twinge of... pain in the Force. Which isn't unusual, but something about it feels... dangerous.

It's from one of the younger clones, Tup. "Are you alright?" Anakin asks him.

"It's nothing," he assures, though he's pulled off his helmet and is rubbing his head. "It's just a headache."

"Stay focused," Anakin tells him, hoping to the Force that he can carry through, and they don't lose someone else. "We'll be done soon."

Ahsoka looks up at him, lips pressed together, expression tight in the blue glow lighting. She senses it, too.

Anakin can do nothing more than nod to her, letting her know she's not alone. And the danger centers around her. Force, please – he already lost Obi-Wan. He can't lose Ahsoka, too.

Obi-Wan is... gone.

The battle commences minutes later. It... seems to be going well. Anakin doesn't stop to think about it as he cuts through droid after droid – they do this every time. It's normal, but there is something else wrong.

It's not until he hears someone yell, "Tup, what are you doing?" that Anakin pauses, jumping back from the line of fire and turning to take in the situation.

The clone is firing at... Master Luminara, who is deflecting the shots. She lashes out with the Force, throwing him. Anakin just feels a mind-numbing horror as he watches. For a moment, he thinks she's about to kill him.

Fives darts forwards, tackling Tup before she has a chance.

"Fives?" Anakin yells, cutting across the lines to join him. They need to press forwards, but figuring out what's happening here is more important. "We need to figure out what's going on, fast. Get him to the back. I'll come with you."

He doesn't understand. It feels like there's... more to it. Once, one of his clones was paid off by Ventress and betrayed the Republic as well as all his brothers. It nearly cost them the mission, but they made it work. Somehow, Anakin thinks this is far more complicated. Fives is close with Tup – he would never do something like that.

"Master, what's going on?" Ahsoka calls, Force-jumping towards him, spinning through the air in her typical dramatic fashion.

He swallows. He hates telling her he doesn't know, hates having to admit any form of weakness in front of the child he raised, but Ahsoka is... older now. She's a Knight. She's mature, and she's a far better Jedi than he ever could be or ever has been. He trusts her blindly, and vice versa. "I don't know, but I'll figure it out fast."

"Do you really think it's worth falling back for?" Ahsoka asks, standing next to him, green and gold lightsabers flashing in front of her, skillfully deflecting blaster shots.

For a moment, he wonders. But this is important. He can feel it. Tup has been with them for a year. He joined right after Mon Cala. If something happened that made him turn traitor, Anakin has to know.

Especially if something else is going on and it's widespread.

"Considering the potential severity," Anakin replies, "I think this may be more pressing than the battle."

"We'll press forwards," Ahsoka assures him.

Something twists sharply inside him, but Ahsoka has done so much without him. She was kidnaped and came halfway across the galaxy on her own to get back. She didn't need him. Doesn't need him. "May the Force be with you," Anakin calls, and she nods, jumping back into the fray, calling the boys forwards.

Anakin wants nothing more than to be right up in the front, with the others, as he always is, but he... needs to do this. It's more important.

**w**

They cut down through the rest of the hall, like she promised, like they planned, even if it's twice as hard without Anakin. Ahsoka stabs her lightsabers into the doorway at the far end and cuts a circle through.

The other Jedi Master approaches, lightsaber in hand. "We must be cautious," Luminara warns, "I sense a significant amount of danger."

Ahsoka reaches out with the Force, nudging forwards. She feels it, too. "Rex," she requests, turning to him. "Tell Anakin we could use his help up here. Wait here until I call you."

He nods, falling back.

Ahsoka raises her lightsabers, and she and Luminara step through together into the darkness of the room beyond. It's dark, but as a Togruta, Ahsoka can still somewhat see. More than that, she can sense. And someone is lurking nearby.

She steps forwards, cautiously. There's a faint beeping, but Ahsoka senses the movement more than anything else. "Look out!" she yells, jumping back right as an explosion rips through the room.

It's hard enough to throw them both to the ground.

Ahsoka hits the ground hard, pain spearing through her arm and lekku where she hits the ground, smoke clogging the air. She jolts, coughing, trying to shake off the ringing in her brain.

The familiar snap-hiss of a lightsaber makes her blood go cold. She fought Grievous. Twice. It was – bad.

But this isn't Grievous. This is something much worse. In the Force, it feels more like a violent, wild storm. She can practically see it and its darkness in her mind.

It's not like Ventress. It's darker than that, stronger. More real.

Force. It's not Dooku, but it's still a Sith.

The Acolyte.

The ghost story.

He's a ghost story because he's so deadly.

And when Ahsoka opens her eyes, she sees the black-clothed figure stalking towards Luminara's prone form. Just like when she first fought Grievous, and he was about to behead Rex. Ahsoka shoves herself upwards unsteadily, Force-jumping across the room to block what would have been a fatal swing.

The masked figure pauses, slowly looking at her.

And for a moment, something about him feels so familiar, though Ahsoka can't say why or how.

"Is that the best you can do?" he asks, voice sounding mechanicalized through his mask, shoving Ahsoka back.

She skids back, rebalancing herself, baring her fangs. "Bring it on, Sith," she snarls, and jumps at him.

**w**

"How is he?" Anakin inquires, walking into the back where Fives and some of the other clones are trying to get answers out of Tup.

"Uncertain, sir," Fives replies, voice laced with frustration, "He's not making sense. He's hardly coherent."

That's... Everything about this situation screams of sheer wrongness. And Anakin has no idea what's happening. All of the 501st are loyal, even if some are cautious around other Jedi and people they don't know. They heard about Umbara through Cody and the 212th. They came dangerously close to ending up there in the crossfire, too.

If Cody hadn't pulled strings to get Clone Force 99 deployed right when he did, and if they hadn't come to Umbara and ended everything, it could have been far... worse.

The clone isn't saying anything or doing much of anything short of mumbling "good soldiers follow orders" on repeat.

And that's when Anakin senses a flare of screaming danger in the Force.

It's strong enough that he doesn't have time to tell the others, just whirls around and bolts. It's Ahsoka. Something's happening to Ahsoka.

She's – someone hurt her.

Making his way through the halls takes way, way too long. In wartime, this can just as well end with someone dying.

Just like his mother.

Just... like Obi-Wan, no matter how many times people tell Anakin there was nothing he can do, so he needs to let it go. Even if... there's a part of him that doesn't – can't – believe his master is truly dead; he's been searching for over a year and found nothing.

He could have done... something for them, and he has to save Ahsoka now. He won't let anyone else die because of him.

Anakin skids to a stop in the darkened room, the air still thick with the smoke of an explosion, but he can sense everything. Master Luminara is down, and Ahsoka...

He can hear the strangled, labored breaths clearly.

And he hears the hiss, sees the light of her lightsabers flicking off. She's on the ground and... someone is standing by her, his lightsaber raised. Anakin Force-shoves him back instinctively, throwing him across the room.

He was about to kill Ahsoka. He – Anakin forces that from mind, lunging at him. Ahsoka needs help, fast, but Anakin can't give it to her when this Dark Sider is here.

The figure lashes back at him, and their sabers clash. Once, twice, then Anakin kicks him back. And instead of attacking again, the Dark Sider runs.

Anakin watches him go just enough to make sure he's really going, then whirls around and runs to Ahsoka's side, simultaneously extinguishing his lightsaber and clipping it to his belt.

And – oh, Force. There's a burn hole in her stomach. She was stabbed. He's not sure how deeply or how bad, but it was – it –

"Ahsoka," he gasps, shaking her shoulder.

She's shaking, but her eyes pull open to look up at him. "Hey," she croaks.

"Hey," Anakin says back, hand on her shoulder, working his arm under her.

Ahsoka hisses out a gasp of pain.

"I'll take you to the back," Anakin tells her, slipping his arm under her shoulders and the other under her knees. "It'll be fine. You'll be fine." Because she has to be.

"I know," Ahsoka pants, reaching up, one hand twisting into his tunic. Her face is drawn and tense.

He can only desperately hope that Ahsoka will be fine and that there won't be any permanent damage. First Tup, then this. Something is definitely wrong.

**w**

Anakin loathes to send Tup back to Kamino, but there's no other choice. He's busy with Ahsoka, and he needs to make sure his padawan is alright, first. The damage wasn't that severe, despite appearances, surprisingly. Even so, it'll take time to heal, time they don't have.

They left Luminara behind, temporarily pulling back. But the 501st never retreats, and they cannot afford to lose Ringo Vinda. This battle is too important. They'll come back, though the blows already taken were hard.

Anakin checks on Tup before – albeit reluctantly, even on Kix's advise, though Anakin trusts his clone medic with literally anything – sending him to Kamino where they can hopefully scan him and get some answers. Something is clearly wrong with his brain, with his mind, though whether it's physical or not, it's hard to tell. Something about his presence feels off, darkened, wrong. But Anakin simply doesn't have the presence of mind to deal with it himself.

He's been staying with Ahsoka ever since, and he's still sitting at her side when Rex comes to tell him the Separatists attacked the transport carrying the clone.

"I don't like it," Rex admits as they head for the hangar. Someone has to check it out, and despite the circumstances, Anakin is going personally, because this is too important to miss. Even if all he wants to do is press himself to Ahsoka's side, keep her safe. Just stay there and watch. "There are too many coincidences."

"Did any of you see the Dark Sider?" Anakin inquires. It's been some hours now, and now that he's had time to think about it, he's starting to suspect he knows who that was. Dooku's alleged assassin, replacement of Ventress – an unknown and unnamed person called the Acolyte.

"No, sir," Rex replies. "The Commander told us to fall back and hold the line until you returned."

No one mentions that Ahsoka is technically a general now herself, though she has yet to get her own battalion. The 501st will never stop seeing her as a child, as their little sister.

"Knowing the Separatists, I don't think any of this is coincidental," Anakin answers, "I think it was... intention. That the situation with Tup is somehow connected to the Acolyte. They're trying hard to win this battle, but what I don't understand is why." Or how they could've found a way to neutralize Tup, or why him, specifically.

"It could be anything," Fives interjects, falling in line, "And I'd like to know what they're trying to cover up."

"We'll find out soon," Anakin replies as they board the Twilight.

It doesn't take long to assess the situation when they arrive.

Everyone aboard the transport is dead, except Tup, who's... missing. The Separatist took him. He's gone, and Anakin has no idea what they could want with him. But he must be alive, for them to have gone to such lengths to take him.

"We have to get him back," Fives says, a lingering anguish in his voice.

"Don't worry," Anakin assures, squeezing his shoulder. "We'll find a way." And they need to. Everything depends on it, and there's something... important about it.

**w**

Consciousness returns slowly. The first thing Ahsoka senses is Anakin's close presence, the fire burning next to her. It's hot and overwhelming, but grounding and welcoming. "Hey," she croaks.

"Ahsoka!" There's shuffling in the background, like Anakin was sleeping beside her and just woke up. That's probably what happened – she must've been out for a while. She was hurt badly, far worse than ever in the past. "How are you?"

"Tired." She blinks a few times, and some of the room is slowly starting to fade into focus. "What happened?"

Anakin's face comes into focus moments later, leaning over her, and she feels his hand on her shoulder. He looks... worried. "I fought off the Acolyte," he answers, "He escaped. But something happened to Tup. The Separatists are going to great length to cover it up."

She frowns. "That's... strange. What happened?" She's still tired, and everything hurts, but she's still a commander – no. She's a general now. She'll get her own battalion soon enough, even if Ahsoka doesn't want that. Probably. She just wants to stay with Anakin and Rex and the 501st, the boys she grew up with.

"Are you... up to talking about it?" he inquires.

"Yeah." Not really, but she's used to it. They have to be fully functional and present constantly, with the war and all, regardless of their condition.

"We were transporting him to Kamino to get a better idea of what happened. Kix couldn't figure it out. The Separatists attacked the transport. They killed everyone except Tup, whom they... took hostage. Rex, Fives, and I freed him, and I sent them to Kamino together. Rex should be on his way back."

Despite how badly everything is throbbing, she lets her mind run over and through it. Anakin is right; it makes no sense. "Something's wrong," Ahsoka agrees. "Do you know what?"

"Right now, there's... no leads," Anakin replies, "But I suspect it has something to do with the Acolyte. Likely, it was his doing."

"It couldn't have been a mind trick," Ahsoka muses, "Not at that distance, not if he's still acting off."

"Which he is," Anakin confirms immediately.

"What'll we do?"

"Fives is taking care of it," Anakin assures, "He'll get us a full report."

Fives is one of their best, no doubt about that, even if he's... very chaotic. And has gotten increasingly reckless after they lost Echo. Fives became close with Tup after, too, as a desperate cover for the emptiness drowning him. For all that it hurts, Ahsoka has become numb to it. She's seen it so many times throughout the war.

She shakes some of the fuzziness from her vision and pushes herself upright, ignoring the sudden sharp pain shooting through her middle. Anakin reaches out to steady her. There's a lingering concern in his eyes.

"Are you okay?" she asks him, reaching up to cover his hand with hers.

"Yeah," he murmurs, "I just – you nearly died, Snips."

"It happens all the time," she reminds, unfazed – once, years ago, back at the start of the war, she was. She was terrified when she fought Grievous, even if Ahsoka was still able to trust the Force would get her out alive. And on Geonosis after she and Barriss brought the factory down on themselves, there, she was scared. But through time, that fear faded to something calmer, an instinctive knowledge that she'd be fine. That the Force would guide her, and Anakin would protect her.

But Anakin is terrified of her dying. Pain washes through her as she thinks, briefly, of Obi-Wan's loss. No one knows exactly what happened. All they knew was that... her and Anakin got there too late. The entire area was destroyed. Scorched, really, and they looked for days. Even the armor of the clones accompanying him was virtually disintegrated.

"Don't worry, Skyguy," Ahsoka assures him with as much earnestness as she can manage. "I'm not going anywhere."

He smiles, but it's strained. "I know."

She doesn't think he believes it.

**w**

It's been a couple days when Anakin finally gets word from Fives.

Tup is gone. It's hard to believe. Anakin will let himself think, feel, about that later. There's not time right now.

Fives suspects there's a far bigger conspiracy than what the Kaminoans are claiming. He's convinced Nala Se is covering something up, and Anakin agrees. He has every reason to – he's never thought highly of the Kaminoans in the first place. The clones deserve so much better than what they've been given.

Right now, Fives is in danger. Anakin can feel it, and he can't stop worrying about it. He can't help worrying about it. Fives is... a friend. A brother, in the way they all are.

Anakin needs to protect him. Fives is one of his clones, even if he's just one in the nine-thousand Anakin is the general of. Still, he feels horribly inadequate.

"We're going to Kamino to get him," Anakin says firmly. "I think this... might be more important than anything visible on the fronts right now." Even if the Council will not be happy. It doesn't matter. And maybe, maybe this is just the part of him terrified of losing someone else close to him kicking in.

"It would appear so," Rex agrees, "There's something more here that we can't see. I think Fives is right to suspect a cover-up, but how do we know who to trust?"

"We don't," Ahsoka replies simply.

"We can't," Anakin adds, "We can only trust each other until we know more." And that's just how it's been. That is how they have always been – the top three leaders of the 501st Legion. Once, they were five – with Echo and Fives, and once, they worked side by side with Cody and... with Obi-Wan.

With his master, but he's gone now. And still, Anakin can't believe he's dead. He... can't. Anakin forces that away; it hurts too much. But with Obi-Wan, Anakin lost a piece of himself he'll never get back.

Just like with his mother, only he knew Obi-Wan... better. More.

And like Echo.

"Well, that's nothing new," Rex reminds.

"Nope," Ahsoka agrees cheerfully, grinning, "Not at all."

She's not wrong. This is hardly the first time they've had to do... questionable, not-entirely-rule-abiding things. They do whatever it takes to win and protect the public. Everyone knows that, even if Anakin took a long time to get comfortable with it. He's accustomed to blindly following orders, no matter how hard he tries fighting them. It was integral for survival on Tatooine.

But in the end, his mother always told him to follow his heart. So did Palpatine. And... that's what he's been trying to do. If he'd been faster, thought faster, tried harder, he could've saved Obi-Wan. He... could have.

Anakin sensed the danger before it happened, but he was... distracted. He didn't go there immediately. If he had, maybe things would be different now.

And Rex and Ahsoka were there in the aftermath to help him through, pick up whatever broken pieces of him were left behind.

Even if it's hard for Anakin to accept, he... still has a family here, even if Obi-Wan is gone.

Even if his mother is gone.

But his master raised and protected him, and Anakin should have repaid that.

Anakin slides into the pilot seat of the Twilight. Ahsoka seats herself next to him, and Rex behind – it's just them leaving. The fleet stays, of course, even if Anakin doesn't like handing over its control to his admiral, who has had... very questionable ideas in the past. It wasn't until then that Anakin had finally been forced to start fighting back and questioning.

Behind him, Anakin senses Rex's worry. He's rightfully afraid. Anakin is, too, and he wishes he could say something to reassure his captain, but anything he could say would be a lie.

"Hey," Ahsoka interjects, and Anakin is almost entirely certain she's about to swing her feet up on the control panel from how she's sitting. "How'd you think Fives managed to get a transmission out to us, anyway? I thought he said something about them looking for him."

"It's Fives," Anakin points out ruefully, "Do you think he'd have a hard time?"

Rex chuckles. "You have a valid point, sir."

Anakin smiles back, even if it's half-hearted. "I usually do."

"At least you admit you sometimes don't," Ahsoka offers.

He laughs at that.

There's something distinctly freeing about being here with Rex and Ahsoka. They're his family. At least he has them – his brother and sister – even if he doesn't have Obi-Wan. "Once in a while," Anakin throws back teasingly.

Ahsoka huffs. "I suppose you already have a plan for how we're gonna get onto Kamino and into Tipoca city without someone questioning our presences?"

"Nope." The Twilight glides out of the hangar, and they make for the hyperspace lane. No one knows exactly where they're going, and he hopes that'll be enough of a cover for now.

"No one will question our presence once we get to the surface," Rex points out, "You're Jedi."

"That's what I'm counting on," Anakin replies.

"It can't be too bad," Ahsoka chirps, smiling.

He doesn't truly feel this light, but pretending makes it easier. Anakin smiles back as he pulls the lever, and the ship jolts into hyperspace.

**w**

Kamino is always bright inside. The planet itself is dark and stormy, and the ride is bumpy, but the sheer brilliance inside the buildings is enough to hurt Ahsoka's eyes. The one downside to having night vision is light. Rex is lucky – he has his helmet. Ahsoka would like to hide behind something, too. It's maddening sometimes, really. She thinks most people seriously overstate the usefulness of night vision. Togruta vision, in her case – they see colors differently than humans do, and not as distinct, but their montrals show them where to look.

"You okay?" Anakin asks, nudging her arm.

"Yeah," she replies, blinking a few times, rubbing a gloved hand over her face. "I'll be fine."

"Tell me if it gets worse," he requests.

They've been over this a thousand times. "Okay," she agrees, anyway. "How do we do this?"

"I was thinking I'll go have a... chat with Master Shaak Ti," Anakin answers, "I'll see what I can find out, and if I can get us clearance to take Fives with us. You two, look for him."

"Do you think we can find him, sir?" Rex asks, visibly amused.

"Hey," Anakin reminds, "You're the captain."

"Fives is notoriously hard to get ahold of," Ahsoka has to point out, smirking. It also means that tracking him down after he causes sheer chaos is neigh impossible. They manage though. Most of the time.

"You'll figure it out," Anakin assures, "Remember, he's looking for us, too."

"Assuming he hasn't already been found and detained, yes," Rex agrees.

"Come on," Ahsoka replies, nudging him, "Let's get going. It doesn't sound so bad." She doesn't really think that, though, mostly because of the potential seriousness of the situation. Something is wrong – very wrong. She just doesn't know what. Either way, she can't shake a deep, unsettled feeling. The Sith are covering for something.

And then, there's the Acolyte. Something about him was so, so familiar, even if her memory of it is blurred. He reminded her of... someone, and she's not sure who. But someone important.

"Are you okay, kid?" Rex queries quietly as they move down the halls, doing their best to avoid people – both clones and Kaminoans. Droids just ignore them, so they aren't a problem. They don't even have anywhere to start for now, but it can't be hard to just start looking. Anakin is right – Fives will be waiting and watching for them, and no doubt has some sort of plan. He mentioned he had help, anyway.

"Something about the Acolyte was familiar. I felt like... I knew him. I don't know what that means."

"Do you... suspect he might be another Fallen Jedi?" he inquires. "Like... Krell or Dooku?"

She bites her lip. "Possibly." But who? Ahsoka knows many people, but everyone she knows are still Jedi. Except those who've died. There are many, most names she doesn't even know, except... except Obi-Wan.

Ahsoka viciously forces that thought away as fast as possible because it's unreasonable. Yes, Anakin thinks his master is still alive, and Ahsoka would like to believe that, but she... doesn't. And even if he was, Obi-Wan wouldn't have Fallen.

But still, there is something about him. Something that Ahsoka doesn't like.

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