"In Need of Wings"

Chapter the Twelfth

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

Ahsoka meditated for almost a full hour. In the back of her mind, as she tried to search for Bane's presence, she made a note to practice this technique more often, worried that she had grown rusty after not being with the Order for nearly half a year now.

Dawn rose on Coruscant, but it brought no light. Only a reminder of all the Jedi who would never see the sunrise again, and the rising darkness Ahsoka felt around her.

When she was finally able to sense Bane, something jolted through her body, like she had been stabbed. The feeling was so sudden and alarming that she did not even know if it was shock, or pain, or something else. Ahsoka gasped and gripped the edges of her seat in alarm.

"Todo, stop!" she cried out.

The techno-service droid pulled the speeder out of the lane.

"Is something the matter, Miss Tano?"

"I…think so." She held her head. "Just give me a minute. I think I know where Bane is, but I have to try again. Something pulled me away at the last second."

As she used the Force a second time, the stabbing sensation in her body drew closer. Ahsoka covered her mouth to hold back a cry as the pain worsened. This wasn't just pain in the physical sense, she realized; it was also the pain of loneliness, despair, and abandonment. The weight of whatever had happened at the Jedi Temple was crashing down at her all at once, on top of this. In those moments, Ahsoka had never felt so alone.

Tears filled her eyes. She couldn't take it anymore. It was too much. Holding back a scream, she let go and shut herself away.

"I know where he is," she whispered. "The Jedi Temple. Lower levels." What the hell was he doing down there?

Oh, no. Bane…what's happening?

"Do you have an idea of how he got into trouble?" Todo asked.

"I don't." She shook her head. "But he's in bad shape. I could feel it. He's…dying."

Todo glanced at her while driving the speeder. "Are you certain, Miss Tano?"

"Yes. The Force can sense things like that. He's fading. It's like…he's giving up. That's why it took me so long to find him." She wiped her eyes. "Fuck…fuck, no."

Ahsoka had been trying to hold herself together for two days. The sense of impending danger and tragedy with the end of the war. The burning Temple. The dead Jedi. Her former master. Her friends. The nightmares. And now Bane.

She could run, save herself. Get away from everything and start over. And she knew people who would do that. Hell, if Ahsoka and Bane had switched places, would he have done the same? Maybe. Probably.

But as soon as she considered it, Ahsoka realized she could never do that. A part of her still hated Bane. Hated what he did for money, hated the kind of person he was, and especially hated that her life had forced her to cooperate with scum like him. But another part of her saw the side of him that wasn't so unlike her. The side that got nightmares at night, smoked cigarettes to keep calm, and was completely alone in a galaxy that took advantage of the lost and lonely.

She hated caring about that side of him. Even the idea of going out of her way for someone like Bane made her sick, especially when she knew he would never repay it.

But dammit, she did care. And when Ahsoka cared, she always ended up caring too much.

Maybe Anakin was alive, maybe he wasn't. Maybe some of the other Jedi had survived, and maybe they hadn't. But one thing was for sure. As it stood, Ahsoka had only one companion in this galaxy, and said companion wore an ugly wide-brimmed hat.

I know what I have to do.

"All right, Todo. I have a plan." She took a deep breath. "I've been to that part of the Temple before. I can find Bane on my own, but I'll need you as my backup. Depending on what happened to Bane."

"If needed, I could cut off security, while keeping in communication with you. And we have extra thermal detonators if we need them."

"Hopefully that won't be necessary. I just don't know what I'll find." At the last second, she took the detonators from Todo and put them on her belt.

Hold on, Cad. You'd better not give up. I'll be there soon.

If you die on me, I really will be alone.

Bane did not know how long they left him in that position, whether they had stood around waiting for him to confess, or left the room and just kept an eye on him with the holocamera. He did know that after a while, he felt his shoulders and wrists snap out of place. The shock alone made him lose consciousness. When he woke up, ice water was being poured on his face. Familiar images crossed in front of him, reminding him of things they had done before, as if to scare him. It worked, but at this point, even if Bane had decided to tell them where Ahsoka was after all, he might not be able to at all. Speech was difficult, let alone processing what he was seeing and hearing. He was losing his grip on reality.

Which made him wonder, in whatever part of him still could, if the clones were even doing this for information anymore. Were they doing this for entertainment? To cure boredom? Were they practicing for future prisoners who would have important information as well? Maybe all of those reasons.

The one small comfort existed that at least he did not go down without a fight.

Why don't they just get it over with and kill me? Why won't they stop? I just want it to stop…

Most of what he remembered next was completely blackness and a place so cold he began to shiver. As Bane realized after a long period of time, which he had instinctively assumed was meant to break him more, the clones had stored him away for the time being. Perhaps they were going to toss him into the bacta tank soon after, restore him physically so they could start all over again. Go figure.

A while later, confusion hit him. His senses were off. Something was very wrong. The room had shifted from darkness to light.

Bane looked up, trying to see who had come for him next. He pulled at the restraints slightly, trying to get the blood moving in his limbs again.

"I'll never tell you…" He muttered, spitting up blood.

The figure approaching him, Bane discovered, was not a clone. The colors had to be wrong. Not to mention the height. It scared him. He had to prepare for the worst.

A voice rang out. Bane should recognize that voice.

"Cad? Can you hear me?"

He hesitated, then nodded slowly. Then he frowned. It was a voice he never thought he would hear again, and instilled emotions of frustration and endearing annoyance.

"Little bit…" He tried opening his swollen eye. "You shouldn't be here."

"Try not to talk too much."

Bane felt the restraints released. He couldn't hold up his own weight and collapsed, but he felt someone grab him and help lower him to a more comfortable position on the floor. It was Ahsoka, all right. He could see her face and hear her voice. Ahsoka's eyes were wide as saucers, and her hands were shaking.

"Oh, no…look what they did to you."

He coughed weakly. "I know, right? Bastards."

"Hang in there. Just stay with me, all right? Cad…"

Ahsoka, you half-pint idiot.

Ahsoka had not wanted to believe what she saw when she first found him. For a moment she hoped it was only a bad dream. But she knew better than to grant herself such a small grace.

If Ahsoka hadn't walked inside knowing Bane was the only blue-skinned Duros in the lower levels of the Temple, she would not have recognized him. Whoever had been torturing Bane had come close to killing him. He was barely breathing, suspended from dislocated shoulders and wrists, lacerated and bruised all over. He did not even seem to recognize her until she touched him.

You can do this. Hold yourself together. Don't break down, not now.

Ahsoka cut the restraints, wrapped her arms around him, and helped him down.

"Come on, Cad. You can walk, can't you? Walking should be easy."

"You…idiot."

"You need to walk. Understand? I can't carry you." It took all her strength not to panic. Not to let her mind dive back into the horrors of when others she cared about died in her arms because she could not save them.

From down the hall, Ahsoka heard commotion, footsteps approaching faster. They would have to make their escape under complete darkness. And whoever had attacked the Temple was still here. Straining with effort, Ahsoka pulled what strength she could from the Force to help her support nearly all of Bane's weight. Unfortunately he was heavier than he looked.

"Stay with me, Cad." She noticed he was struggling to stay conscious, and decided she would have to keep talking with him to try to keep him awake. "Who did this to you?"

He lifted his head slightly. "They wouldn't stop."

"That didn't answer my question. Did you see who they were?"

"You idiot," he hissed. "You shouldn't. You should have run."

"How could I run when there was a damsel in distress in need of saving?" she tried to tease. But Bane didn't laugh. Neither did she. It was worth a try.

Ahsoka wanted to cry again, but she managed it choke it down. If she broke down now, both of them could die. She helped Bane take slow steps, knowing they were not getting out of here nearly as fast as they should be. At this rate, she would have to comm Todo for extra help, which would put them at greater risk of being spotted.

Voices down the hall echoed in the darkness, alerting that there were trespassers. Ahsoka grabbed the thermal detonator from her belt, rather than her lightsaber. She didn't want to kill anyone today, and a detonator would serve as a better distraction for escape.

"Okay, Cad, we have to move fast," she warned him. "You're doing great. Just hang in there a little longer."

"Don't." He coughed. "No. Get out of here."

Her focus was thrown off from up ahead. Skidding to a halt, she gripped Bane tightly and let him lean on her for support again. Four white figures appeared at the end of the hall. Ahsoka stared at them. Four helmets, all identical, easily recognizable. She knew them all too well. These were clone troopers. The helmet design had been modified slightly since Ahsoka had last seen them, a bittersweet reminder of how long she had been away from the war.

Nevertheless, as soon as she saw them, Ahsoka breathed a sigh of relief. Thank the Force I'm not alone after all, she thought.

Had she looked ten seconds into the future, she would have had a very different reaction.

"I thought we were goners." Her arms ached from holding Bane up so long. "Listen, we need help, get a medic quick! He's badly hurt and—"

She stopped. The clones had not moved a muscle since they saw her. In fact, none had made a move to help her, or Bane, which they should have. The helmets stared back, emotionless and cold and empty. Never a feeling Ahsoka had associated with them before, but strangely, it took into effect now. As she watched, a pit forming in her stomach all the while, the clone troopers reached for their blasters and slowly raised them. Not at someone behind them, nor at some structure above them. Ahsoka was staring right back down the barrel of a clone blaster rifle.

In an instant, the realization came crashing down, like a sudden blow upside the head that not only shook her violently into this new living nightmare, but shattered her whole world. And five simple words ended the life Ahsoka Tano had always known.

"It's the Jedi. Arrest her!"

A/N: Another cliffhanger ending so sorry to do that to you guys! But this scene got split up into two chapters instead of one. Right now I don't know if I feel worse for Bane or Ahsoka :(