Arbitrium
Ahsoka sprinted across the bridge, suspended hundreds of meters above bubbling lava, towards her old master. Her arms were extended out behind her, one lightsabre clutched in each hand. As the distance closed she saw Anakin narrow his eyes and prepare for her impact. But she knew if she wanted to stand a chance, she would have to keep him guessing. So, at the last minute, Ahsoka skirted sideways, and ducked through the doorway that Anakin was standing next to.
Anakin spun around to face her, but she was already sprinting off towards the main room, luring Anakin away from his unfinished job with Obi Wan. Anakin gave chase. In bounding movements, he quickly closed the gap between him and Ahsoka. Ahsoka made it to the central room of the complex. The walls were lined with monitors and consoles regulating the facility's systems. She turned around to face Anakin and was surprised to see that he had stopped running, and was now walking towards her, his lightsabre dangling in his right arm, lightly brushing the floor, sending sparks into the air.
"Why are you doing this Anakin?" Ahsoka asked, her voice echoing in the almost silent room. The question only infuriated Anakin.
"To save her Ahsoka! I need to do this" Anakin spat as he lunged forward. His blue blade arced through the air towards the Togruta, who ducked under it, and continued backing up to the far end of the room.
"To save her?" Ahsoka said in shock. "Do you mean to save the woman that you just left unconscious outside? Anakin, you almost killed her!"
These comments only angered Anakin more, who unleashed a flurry of attacks on Ahsoka. Blinded by hate, his attacks were poorly aimed, but he made up for it with raw power and speed, slamming his lightsabre over and over again. Ahsoka used a combination of deflections and leaps to avoid Anakin's attacks. Ahsoka continued to try and reach her old friend.
"You haven't saved her, you've abandoned her, left her for dea-". Ahsoka was interrupted by a roar form Anakin as he swung his lightsabre down at Ahsoka. Ahsoka was only just able to raise her blades in time to block the attack. Both her lightsabres were held parallel across her face, just millimetres away from her skin, barely holding Anakin's attack at bay. She could feel the heat radiating off the blades, as Anakin's attack bore down on top of her. She stared up at Anakin, pure hatred in his eyes.
"How dare you talk to me about aboding the people you care for! Where were you when I needed you Ahsoka. I didn't abandon you. You abandoned me! You turned your back on me when I needed you most".
Anakin's attack had weakened in this time, still pressing too hard for Ahsoka to escape from, but no longer inching closer to her face. Ahsoka could sense a moment of vulnerability in Anakin. For the first time since Obi Wan and her had landed on Mustafar, she could sense something other than hate in her former master; confliction.
"I'm sorry Anakin" Ahsoka said, all the blame that she had already given herself for her friend's turn to the dark side, now amplified by what he was saying, "but I have come back for you now. And you can still go back for Padme, it's not too late to make things right".
Anakin deactivated his lightsabre and took a step back, shaking as he finally came to grips to everything he had done over the last couple of days. Ahsoka deactivated her lightsabres too, but kept her distance in case Anakin had a sudden change of spirit.
"You're right" Anakin's voice was barely audible, his whispers soft, speaking more to himself than to his former Padawan. "Even if my new powers could save her, would she even want to be saved if it meant living with the monster that I have become."
Ahsoka cautiously walked over to Anakin to comfort him.
"Everything I've done... You could have stopped me Ahsoka, you were always there to keep me in line. It tore me apart when you left the Order. You were like the younger sister that I never had." He couldn't make eye contact with his apprentice whom he had let down so drastically. "I was always trying to be a role model for you, and when you left, I was lost. And now look at what I have become." Anakin continued, staring down at his hands, a singular tear streaking down his cheek.
"Those things, they weren't you. That was Palpatine, he made you do them" Replied Ahsoka, trying to comfort him.
"I always had a choice, even when I thought I didn't. I was the one that led the assault on the temple, it was me that ended so many innocent lives. So many people there that looked to me for support, for guidance, and I slaughtered them. Because I thought they had turned their backs on me? Because I blamed them for all of my problems. I despised them for what they did to you Ahsoka."
Anakin looked across to the Togruta standing next to him, his eyes begging for forgiveness.
"I hated them for the war, and for never understanding my problems. But now I see that it wasn't them I should have hated; it was Palpatine. He engineered all of it from the ground up and I was just another pawn in his game. Because that's what all this is to him; a game. And it's too late. I've done all these horrible things." By now Anakin was crying tears of regret, all down his face.
"You may have done those things, but that doesn't mean it's too late to repent, to atone for all that you have done. You can still make things right." Ahsoka's words instantly resonated with Anakin.
"You're right. I will make him pay for all that he has done. Not just for what he has done to the Republic, to the Jedi, but for what he has done for me. I will make things right."
With that Anakin recomposed himself and headed straight outside, past the unconscious body of Obi Wan, and to the crumpled body of his wife, lying on the landing pad. He knelt down next to her, cradling her head in his arms, using the force to slowly bring her back to consciousness.
Padme woke to see her husband's face, streaked with tears staring down at her. At first, she was unsure whether to be scared or happy, but when she noticed Ahsoka standing behind him, he knew that they had done it. Together, they had convinced Anakin to return to the man they knew, the man that Padme loved.
"I'm so sorry" Anakin muttered, tears rolling down his face, "I never meant to hurt you".
Ahsoka decided to leave the two of them together for a while and walked over to see if Obi Wan was alright. He was slumped against a wall, still unconscious. Ahsoka knelt down next to him, and placed her hand an inch from Obi Wan's face.
Using the force, Ahsoka slowly began stimulating the unconscious Jedi's mind, coaxing him back to consciousness. As his eyes blinked open, Ahsoka smiled down at him.
"We did it, we brought him back" Ahsoka said, feeling a combination of relief, and overpowering joy as she heard the words that she had just spoken, and finally processed what they meant.
Obi Wan returned the smile, and with a grunt, sat up, propping himself up against the wall. Ahsoka took sat down next to him and together they sat down, exhausted after their dual which had been both physically and emotionally exhausting.
From where they were sitting, they could see Anakin and Padme lying on the floor of the landing pad. All four of them were enjoying their momentary opportunity to relax and gather their thoughts after the events of the last few days. A calming silence had descended over them. There was so much to say, yet nothing needed to be said, and the constant bubbling and crashing of the lava below gave an odd sense of serenity.
"It's not over yet, you know" Obi Wan said, directing the words at the Togruta next to him, but keeping his gaze on the two lovers lying side by side on the landing pad. "The chancellor still needs to be stopped, and I don't think he will be happy about losing his favourite toy" he continued, referring to Anakin. Obi Wan's tone was sombre. He knew that the entire fate of the galaxy was in the hands of the four people, all sitting exhausted on an outer rim world, and a couple of clone troopers who refused to follow orders.
As if reading his mind, Ahsoka spoke up "There's nothing we can't do when we're together. Anakin, you, Rex and me, we always get the job done. Think of all the times we've been up against the odds, but we always pull through in the end. Today was just another example of that" Her voice was quiet, and Obi Wan could hear her apprehension for what lay ahead, but underneath that, she had a clear faith in her own words. She really believed that they could do it, they could defeat the Chancellor.
Obi Wan was less sure. He used to feel like that back when he was a Padawan, when he was Ahsoka's age. It wasn't until he watched his master die in his arms that he realised that sometimes, you don't win. If it wasn't for the guidance of Yoda, and the new responsibility placed on him by Qui Gon of teaching Anakin, then Obi Wan believes that his master's death would have ripped him apart.
And now, with Yoda presumed dead, and Anakin no longer in need of Obi Wan's training, He had very little left to motivate him to move forward.
It was unlike Obi Wan to dwell on the negatives, and he quickly snapped out of it, turning to Ahsoka and smiling at her in response. Ahsoka returned the smile before returning to her thoughts.
A little while later Ahsoka stood up.
"We should try to make contact with Rex. See how things are going on his end with him." She said. She turned to Obi Wan and extended her arm, offering him a hand up off the ground. Obi Wan took it thankfully and rose to his feet. Together they walked towards Padme's ship and up the ramp into the cockpit.
Anakin noticed the two enter the ship and stood up to join them, with Padme close behind.
"What's going on?" Anakin asked as he entered the ship.
"Before we came to Mustafar, we were with Rex" Ahsoka started explaining "He met up with another clone, an ex-commando named Gregor. Together they went to Kamino to see if there was any way for them to deactivate the inhibitor chips. We were meant to meet up with him afer we found you and take on the Emperor."
Ahsoka returned her attention to the dashboard in front of her whilst Anakin nodded in understanding. Within a couple of minutes, a hologram of the decorated clone trooper appeared on screen.
"It's good to see you commander Tano" Rex said in his usual militaristic tone.
"It's good to see you too Rex" Ahsoka smiled back "You seem… Alive. I'm taking it that means things went well on Kamino?"
"Long story short; the chips can be deactivated, but our transmitter only has enough range for about one planet at a time, and even with the chips disabled, some troopers still pledge their allegiance to the Emperor, after all, he is technically who we are meant to fight for. Luckily there weren't many here on Kamino that are against the Jedi, but I fear that those close to Palpatine, and those that have served under much harsher Jedi leaders will not be so willing to join our cause. There are just under two clone regiments that have now agreed to assist in our cause, as well as the crew of the Praedor class star destroyer; Night of Solace. However, the ship is currently being repaired, and will not be operational for a couple of days at least. That leaves us with no means of transport to get these clones off planet any time soon."
"Is there any way that you can rendezvous with us en route to Coruscant?" Obi Wan asked "The Emperor would have felt Anakin's change of allegiance, meaning that he'll be looking for a new apprentice. If we can launch an assault on him before he finds his new apprentice then he will be vulnerable. It's much easier to take on one sith lord than two."
Rex thought for a bit turned around to talk to someone not in the hologram and then returned to face the Jedi.
"There might be a shuttle or two fitted with a hyperdrive, but beyond that there's no way out of here until that ship is repaired." Rex replied.
"Alright," said Obi Wan, stroking his beard as he often does when thinking, "take what troops you can and meet us on the way to Coruscant. Get the remaining troops to focus all their efforts on repairing that star destroyer ASAP, and as soon as it's ready, get them to come as reinforcements, we're going to need all the help we can get."
'Yes sir" Said Rex before ending the transmission.
Obi Wan turned to face Anakin.
"Are you ready" he asked.
"Ready as I'll ever be" Replied Anakin, who was starting to sound like his old self again. Obi Wan smiled at that. It was good to have his friend back by his side. Without further delay, Obi Wan plotted his course and began his ascent off Mustafar.
On Kamino, Rex had just ended his transmission with Obi Wan Kenobi and turned to Gregor, who was standing next to him. Together, they walked through the various hangars that stored the ships of Kamino. However, most of the ships docked in these hangars were not fitted with hyperdrives, due to the fact that troops normally only ever left Kamino in large numbers, using Venator or Acclimator class ships to transport them. The ships kept on world were normally used either as transport between the planet and the ships in orbit, or as fighters to assist in case of a space battle above the planet.
In the final hangar, they found two Nu-class shuttles, each capable of holding 20 troops.
"Gather up 40 of the finest troops you can find, we leave for Coruscant in two hours" Rex instructed.
"Aye, aye" responded Gregor, who ran out the door to round up their strike force.
Rex walked over to the ships and surveyed them. They had been modified for speed, losing all weaponry and plated with extremely thin armour to shed weight. They were ideal for reaching Coruscant in time to meet up with the Jedi, but would be useless for anything other than transportation. Rex took one last glance around the room, watching clones running around, looking for parts to repair the bridge of the Night of Solace. He knew that if that ship was not repaired in time, then he and the Jedi stood no chance of leaving Coruscant alive.
Rex turned and boarded one of the shuttles, making his final preparations before he departed to fight the biggest battle of his life.