"In Need of Wings"

Chapter the Eleventh

Warning: This chapter involves some graphic content and images relating to torture

It seemed like days had passed, although it had only been hours.

He was subtly aware of two clone troopers grabbing him by the arms and dragging him down a hallway. This continued on for several minutes. Their hands felt cold.

His mind slipped in and out of consciousness. Faint signals here and there reminded him that he was still alive. The taste of blood in his mouth. The metal binders on his wrists, scratching the small of his back. The pounding in his head.

Then Bane saw him, standing in the middle of a room with a bright light. The man who used to be Anakin Skywalker, now just a shadow of him. Lord Vader.

Bane was pulled forward and forced to kneel in front of Vader. Vader stepped closer so he was only a few inches away. Bane resisted slightly, not liking the idea too much at the moment, especially given their 'interesting' history with each other. Then again, if that's what Vader had in mind, Bane would take Vader's methods of interrogation over the clones' any day.

The clones stepped back. Bane felt Vader staring down at him.

"Has he said anything yet?" Vader asked the clones, gnashing his teeth as he did. His voice was cold yet filled with a terrible rage waiting to happen.

"Not a word, Lord Vader."

Bane opened his good eye, as the other was too swollen. He glared up at Vader, struggling to breathe. He no longer saw any traces of the Jedi he once knew. As if Skywalker had been a mere mask while Vader hid underneath.

"Oh, Cad. Look at what you make me do, going to all this trouble." Vader sighed.

He shivered at hearing the use of his first name. It sounded surreal, coming from Vader.

Vader smacked Bane in the jaw, turning his head to the side. The color green speckled the floor.

"You know that I will let you go as soon as you tell me where Ahsoka is. You won't have to endure another minute of this. Just say the word, and it will all be over."

"Oh, I'm sure," Bane muttered. "I can't wait to see how many other Jedi you plan to have me bring back to you. Should be fun."

A flash of light glinted in Vader's eyes, then he smacked Bane again, this time so hard that Bane was knocked to the ground. The clones grabbed him and forced him to kneel again.

"Where is she, Cad? Where did my Snips run off to?" he cooed. "Awww. Did she get lost? Is she scared? Where did you keep her hiding from her master? Why did you lie to her and not let her talk to me?"

Bane lowered his head and didn't look up for nearly half a minute, watching blood drip from his mouth to the floor. His only focus was on staying conscious.

"Do you want me to do to you what Count Dooku did to me—cut off your arm or leg? And I'll do it slowly. Would that get you to talk?"

If Bane spoke now, then he would have went through all of this for no reason. As if he could throw away the last of his pride at a time like this. He had gone too far to even consider backing down.

"You know, if my Snips cares about you as much as I hope she does, she'll figure out pretty soon what's going on." Vader smiled. "She'll realize you're in danger and she'll want to rescue you. When she does I'll be here, waiting for her."

Dammit. He's right. Bane had used this exact same tactic on Skywalker once, that is, back when he was still Skywalker. During his job on Devaron, Bane had captured and briefly electrocuted Ahsoka after they briefly dueled. Not to scare her or hurt her, of course, but to use her as bait for Skywalker. Same tactic, different cast of characters. This time, as much as he did not want to admit it, Bane was the bait.

"So, either you tell me where my Snips is. Or I keep you alive until she gets here." Vader shrugged. "Obviously, the first way is quicker. But the second way, we still have time for our own little fun."

Bane looked away.

"Tano doesn't care about me," he said. "If you keep me alive, she'll think I abandoned her, and then she'll be long gone." At least, Bane hoped that was the truth. He hoped Ahsoka despised him enough that she would sooner save herself than try to rescue him. He hoped she was smart enough to figure things out and get away from Coruscant, and never come back for him. At least if Ahsoka survived, some of his work would pay off in that it would keep her safe.

If that kid is stupid enough to think she can get me out of this, I'll kill her.

"It would be completely pointless to stay up waiting for Mr. Bane to come back," Todo 360 said. "You'll be better off getting some much needed rest while you wait."

Ahsoka agreed, reluctantly. She grew more worried with each hour that passed. Every possibility passed through her mind and made her sick with dread. The longer she stayed up, the more she felt as if she should not just be sitting around waiting, that she should be somewhere else, doing something, anything. Not curling up on the couch watching late-night holovision soap operas until she eyes could not stay open, not from the peace sleep would bring, but from physical exhaustion wearing her down.

When she finally managed to fall asleep, she had nightmares. It had been several weeks since she got those, but Ahsoka couldn't say it surprised her. There were nightmares about Wasskah, about being tortured on Zygerria and Florrum. The campaign on Geonosis. The Citadel. Too many places to count.

But then the nightmares began to change. They were not images of things that had already happened, but things she was afraid would happen. Everything she feared about the future. Ahsoka saw the place where the Jedi Temple once stood, now empty. She saw Anakin engulfed in shadow, trapped in a fire that ate at him alive. She saw death across the whole galaxy. People were on the run, being lined up and shot, tossed into dark caves to be slaughtered. Death was everywhere.

And then, as the dream continued on, it changed slightly. Ahsoka began to see faces and hear voices she never would have expected. People who had either never appeared in her dreams, or hadn't for a long time. People like Asajj Ventress, the former Separatist leader, now a bounty hunter who had even helped Ahsoka when she was a fugitive. And Barriss, Ahsoka's old companion who betrayed her—with everything else Ahsoka had been struggling with, she tried to keep any thoughts about Barriss out of her mind, that mix of anger and grief that turned Ahsoka into a different person just by reflecting on it mere moments. And she dreamed about Bane, the bounty hunter she hated to love and loved to hate.

Ahsoka woke up with tears running down her cheeks, and she was shaking uncontrollably. As her gasps for air subsided into soft sobs, Ahsoka scrambled to find her pack of cigarettes. In the darkness, she quickly lit one and began to smoke, hoping it would help calm her down.

Now more than ever, Ahsoka wished Anakin were here. He would let her cry it out, then show her how to pick herself up and take the first step. That used to happen back in the day. Both of them got the nightmares, she remembered.

Anakin…what do I do now? I know you'll never answer because for all I know you could be dead right now, but…please tell me. Maybe her little voice would finds its way through the Force, somehow. It had to. If not, then everything and everyone truly had abandoned her, even the Force itself.

Ahsoka made some more tea and looked around the kitchen for something to eat. No way she was getting more sleep tonight. She felt silly, raiding Bane's apartment while he had left her for good. However, something about the way she had seen Bane in her dream unsettled her…it was very unlike him. Bane was not the type of person to cry out for help.

Todo stepped into the room. "If you need something to help with the night terrors, a cigarette is not nearly strong enough."

"What? How would you know?" She stared.

"Luckily, I have a spare key." Todo showed her a small cabinet containing several bottles of strong liquor, most all of which had already been opened. "They don't make it go away, but they make it a little easier, if you're not getting any sleep. Or so I've been told. I wouldn't know."

"But someone you know does." Ahsoka glanced at one of the bottle labels before closing the cabinet. So Bane got nightmares too. Could she even say she was surprised?

Todo followed her out of the kitchen. "It's dawn. Mr. Bane should have been back several hours ago."

"Todo…" She sighed sadly. "I don't think he's coming back."

The techno-service droid cocked his head to the side. "And why do you say that?"

"Isn't it obvious? Look outside. It's chaos out there, something horrible is about to happen, and he bailed on us. He left me! Just like everyone else!" She sat down in the chair. "Everyone leaves me…"

"But he left too many items of importance here. I'm sorry, but I know Mr. Bane much better than you do, and this logic is not adding up." Ahsoka could have sworn the droid was trying to imitate the motion of puffing out one's chest. "And besides, why would he leave his favorite techno-service droid behind?"

"Then what…" She thought back to her dream. "What if he is in trouble?"

"He never contacted me about it," Todo said curtly.

"What if he didn't get the chance? What if he needs our help?" Of course…she had spent all this time wondering and worrying that someone else had abandoned her, it never occurred to her that Bane might have had something awful happen to him.

Ahsoka wanted to slap herself. How could she be so blind?

If I have to get him out of a real mess and it's all his fault, I'll kill him.

Todo sighed and crossed his arms.

"I suppose you want us to be the ones to find him, then," he said dryly.

"What else are we supposed to do, just sit around? I can't do that. Not if there's a chance we can do something to fix this." Ahsoka grabbed her jacket. She needed to focus on what to do. Maybe it would be a good distraction. "Now help me, Todo. You're going to fly the speeder. I'll try to use the Force to find out where Bane is. If I can."

Bane felt the knife against his arm, slowly pressing in until it began to draw blood. He didn't want to cry out in front of Vader, but he didn't know how much longer he could stay in control of his emotions.

"I can't believe you've lasted this long," Vader said quietly. He sounded exhausted. Like it took every ounce of his strength just to stay awake as he watched the clones continue working on Bane.

Another clone pulled out a second knife and began to drag it across Bane's stomach. Bane clenched his fists.

"Snips is lost. She's scared. I can feel it…" Vader was muttering to himself. He began breathing heavily. "If something happens to her, it's your fault. Your fault! You were supposed to protect her and make sure she would be ready when I came back for her. You were supposed to be the one to see that she was never far away from me. That was the whole point of hiring you."

Bane stifled a scream as he felt the knife cut across his stomach again. "You know…seeing you this pissed off, it's almost worth it."

"Snips should be here! She should be with me!" Vader snapped. He was shaking. "It's the only way I can save her…she needs me…" He stepped forward and grabbed one of the knives. "If I don't save her in time, it's your fault."

"I can live with that," Bane said, but he was losing his edge fast, and the blood loss was making him lightheaded. He knew, based on his own experience in torturing prisoners, that he did not have much longer before he would mentally break. It was only a matter of time. The clones knew what they were doing. Bane only hoped he would be dead before that happened.

"You scum…" Vader held the tip of the knife over Bane's good eye. "Next time you say anything, I only want to hear where my Snips is. Otherwise your other eye goes out too."

Instinctively, Bane tensed and braced himself for what was about to happen. As he did, however, one of the clones stepped in and approached Vader.

"Lord Vader, I apologize for interrupting, but there is an urgent transmission from the Chancellor."

The Chancellor? What the hell, don't tell me he's in on this too? Bane thought. Great…

Vader pulled the knife away with a snarl. "Urgent?" he sighed in frustration. "Just make sure he talks. We have to find Ahsoka, no matter what it takes. She'll die if I don't find her." A moment later, he stormed out of the room.

As Bane tried to focus on staying calm, preparing for the moment when he would breathe his last and be finished with, he felt a subtle awareness of the passage of time that had taken place since his capture. This had been going on for the entire night, he estimated. Which meant that right about now, dawn was rising on Coruscant. He wondered what the Jedi Temple looked like by now, wondered how many Jedi were still alive. Wondered what the Chancellor had summoned Vader for. And as his consciousness slowly began slipping away, he wondered what might have become of little Padawan Tano had he decided to turn her in, and how only a few months ago, he probably would have turned her in for free.

Vader knelt in front of the hologram of Lord Sidious. "You summoned me, Master?"

"I am sending you to the Mustafar system. I need you to eliminate the Viceroy hiding there."

Vader clenched his right fist, trying not to speak out of anger. It was Sidious' orders that he stay on Coruscant to find Ahsoka in the first place. And now this?

"But, my Master…I must stay on Coruscant until I find Ahsoka."

"The Viceroy are a far more urgent matter at this time. Once they are wiped out, the war will finally be over, and our new Galactic Empire will be born. Your apprentice will not be far away. And when the time is right, she will come back to you. You must learn patience."

He took a deep breath, feeling perspiration trickle down his neck. Everything his master had said about Ahsoka had been right. Vader could feel that she was in grave danger, that something bad could happen to her. That by making her his apprentice again and passing on his new master's teachings, he could make up for his abandonment of her.

Everything that had separated them could be mended again. Everything he had failed her in, he could make right again. They could be close like they used to be. They would live freely with no rules holding them down, bringing peace to the galaxy side by side, just like they had always dreamed of.

Don't worry, Snips. I'll find you. I can fix everything. I won't fail you again, and I'll protect you always.

I'll be here, waiting for you.

He slowly rose, pulled his hood over his head, and walked into the morning light of Coruscant that burned like a brilliant fire, setting the galaxy into turmoil and never-ending damnation.