"In Need of Wings"

Chapter the Seventeenth

Ahsoka waited for Bane to come back for what felt like a long time. She got up, paced around the room, stole a few of the snacks he had left on the bedside. Soon she realized it was way too long and something had to be wrong. Whoever had arrived must be stirring up trouble for them.

Without thinking twice about the potential risk or the consequences, Ahsoka grabbed her lightsaber and got up. She had barely made it to the exit door leading to the hallway when she heard Bane's voice from the other room.

"Stop! Don't move, 'Soka." His face was illuminated in the darkness by an eerie red glow. It was in the shape of a lightsaber. He looked startled.

Ahsoka felt a heavy pit in her stomach and immediately feared the worst.

"Who's there?" Ahsoka demanded, already more than eager to maim their new arrival. At least she could tell through the Force that it wasn't Anakin…that is, her former Master and whoever he had become now. Instead, she tensed when she heard a familiar laugh, as the red lightsaber hovered mere inches from Bane's neck.

"It's only me, little Padawan…or should I just call you Tano now?"

"Ventress." Ahsoka spat the name like poison. The last time Ahsoka had seen her was back on Coruscant when she was on the run, after being accused of blowing up the Jedi Temple. Those were memories Ahsoka did not even dare stir these days. But they were the only memories she had of Asajj Ventress that left her in a positive light. "Let him go right now, or you'll be very sorry!"

"Oh? She's with you?" Ventress was obviously surprised. She grabbed Bane's arms and pinned them behind his back, eyes locked on Ahsoka as she spoke to him. "I would have thought you would be holding her for ransom, Bane. Big price on her head, you know. You always did brag about being a Jedi killer."

Ahsoka glared at her, tightening her grip on her lightsaber. Slowly, and cautiously, she took a few steps closer to them.

"I said, let him go." Ahsoka's own tone of voice startled her a bit. She did not sound like her usual self. And it convinced her wholly that all Ventress had to do was make one wrong small move, and Ahsoka would kill her without remorse. That was how far she had gone now. And she did not even have the strength to care about it.

"You sure about that, Tano? I might even be doing you a favor in the long run by getting rid of him. There's no way you two get along that well."

"Sorry to disappoint you, skinny bitch," Bane muttered. He struggled slightly, trying to find an opening so he could take down Ventress, but she was quick to catch on and use the Force to hold him down.

"And if you're here to turn us in, you're going to be even more disappointed." Ahsoka stood up straight. "So what are you doing here?"

"Unfortunately for me, I'm in more need of allies than money right now." Ventress frowned, as if saying this disgusted her.

"Allies?" Bane smirked. "You really need to work on your first impressions."

She smacked him upside the head, hard.

"Stop!" Ahsoka sighed, worrying that Bane's attitude would be the death of him sooner or later. "So, you're admitting you need us to be your allies. You can't the lone wolf anymore. Why the change of heart?"

"You shouldn't have to ask that. You know what the Empire has been doing," Ventress spat.

Ahsoka's glare softened slightly. This was unlike Ventress. To admit a weakness in front of them, come to them saying that she could not be alone anymore. The new Galactic Empire must have really gotten to her. Either that or her previous connection to Ahsoka ran a lot deeper than Ahsoka thought.

Or…it was all just a bluff and as soon as their backs were exposed, Ventress would turn them both in for a huge reward. She had been a good liar before. No reason she would not lie now.

"I mean, look at you, for example. Teaming up with this scum." Ventress gestured to Bane by holding the lightsaber even closer to his neck.

"You're one to talk," Bane mouthed.

"Show me I can trust you. How do I know this isn't a trick?"

Ventress' face fell slightly and she tensed. Nobody said a word. Both Bane and Ventress' eyes were locked on Ahsoka, as Ahsoka glanced between them, her heart pounding.

"If you're really here as an ally, drop the lightsaber and let him go," Ahsoka said.

"Fine. But only if you promise he won't cause trouble."

Ahsoka and Bane spoke at the same time, saying "He won't," and "I won't," respectively. With that, Ventress deactivated her lightsaber and shoved Bane forward, and he joined Ahsoka and stood down Ventress, glaring at her as he rubbed his sore shoulder. Ahsoka glanced at him to check that he hadn't been injured, but aside from a small bruise, Ventress had left him unharmed. Taking every step with precaution, Ventress put both lightsabers on the ground and said, in an oddly calm and quiet voice,

"We need to talk."

They set out a hasty dinner that consisted of leftovers from several previous meals, some takeout mixed with fast food, home-cooked, and instant snacks. It was all they had, and with all of it combined, it made for a very mismatched misfit of a meal. But no one was eating a single bite.

Bane and Ahsoka both sat less than arm's length from Ventress' lightsabers. Ventress, meanwhile, sat at the other end of the table, a drink in one hand. Bane, who never liked vodka all that much, offered some to Ventress and she did not have the heart to turn it down.

"First things first," Ahsoka began the conversation. "How much do you know about what happened?"

"What do I know? No more than anyone else. The Jedi tried to take over the Republic, they were dealt with, now the war is over and we have an Empire. All good news." She spoke in a wry tone, indicating she knew better than to fall for what the mass media had said on the recent events.

"So that's the story going around." Ahsoka clenched her fists, gnashing her teeth. Dammit. It was the other way around…the Jedi had been betrayed, not the Republic. How had they managed to spread such a lie?

Bane noticed her growing anger and put his hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. She relaxed a bit from the touch, as it reminded her of the here and now and that, for both her and Bane's sake, she had to stay focused.

"Bullshit, I know. Never believe what they tell you. But it's getting worse, especially in the Core Worlds. For us non-Humans, anyway. They're already putting segregation into law, and everyone knows it's only the beginning." Ventress took a long sip from her drink, her expression bitter. "And that's why I came here. The way I see it, now is not the time for any of us to pretend we can survive out there on our own. We'll be harder to take down if there are more than one of us."

"Fine, but you'll have to earn our trust. One wrong move and you're dead." Ahsoka meant every word. She could not care less about being compassionate. Those good times were gone.

"I'll accept that." Ventress leaned back in her seat. "But really, these days, who can you trust? Do you have to trust someone just because you're on the same side, or because you're partners?" She glanced at Bane.

"Huh?" Ahsoka almost stabbed her plate.

"Honestly, Tano, I can't believe you teamed up with this guy. I mean, he's a guy."

"Excuse me?" Bane sneered.

"No offense, sweetie, but you can do better than that. You'll be much happier when you figure out your real taste like I did. At least we're good for more than just mating."

Ahsoka frowned, trying to figure out what Ventress was getting at. Then her face twisted in embarrassment. Funny, now that Ventress brought up the subject, they had had a conversation just like this one back on Coruscant while Ahsoka was on the run. Ahsoka, being oblivious and caught up in what was happening, completely missed Ventress' implications until the bounty hunter explicitly asked if Ahsoka had a girlfriend. Then it was Ahsoka's turn to ask what gave it away, and how Ventress had clearly seen what Ahsoka hid from everyone save for those she trusted.

"That's none of your business and ew! Gross. It's not like that. Cad's like a…he's my friend." Ahsoka had known she was only into girls since her first crush at age ten. Her first kiss only proved it all the more.

Ventress just laughed.

"Couldn't help myself, Tano. I just had to see your reaction."

"Ugh." Bane shook his head and fixed his hat. "You man-hating lesbians are all alike."

"Oh, are you scared now, is that it?" she cooed.

Ahsoka pounded her hands on the table and stood up.

"Cad?" She gestured to the other room.

Immediately he stood up as well and snapped his fingers at Todo, who took Ventress' lightsabers and stood watch nearby to make sure she didn't try anything. To which Ventress just rolled her eyes and kicked her feet up on the table. Ignoring her, Ahsoka followed Bane out of the room so they could talk in private. Once they were far away enough that Ventress couldn't hear them, Ahsoka looked up at him and hugged herself.

"Hate to admit it, but we can use her," she muttered.

"I know, I know." He was fixing his hat and jacket collar.

"It's only temporary. And because of her connections. We need this."

"All right. Next part of the plan will be figuring out where to go next."

She forced a small smile of encouragement, knowing how fake it looked.

"But…" Bane's expression darkened, "if Ventress lays one finger on you, the deal's off."

"Sure thing, Dad," she laughed. Finally. It felt so good to laugh, if only at her own joke. "And you should probably watch your back around her more than me. If she really is the 'man-hating lesbian' you say she is."

"Oh, she is. I would know."

"Great. Then this should be lots of fun," she sighed, biting her lip.

There had to be a bright side to this, she mused, almost wryly, thinking of how her younger self had always pushed so hard to see the light at the end of every dark path. How naive and ignorant and…happy she had been. And now, with every waking hour, she had to resist the Force's pull to Mustafar knowing very well why it wanted her to go there…and now this, on top of everything else.

Their plight had seemed without hope that morning, and it almost every way it still did. But maybe this…unexpected alliance with Asajj Ventress was a sign. That if they could manage to find an ally in the likes of her, there was little the Empire could throw at them. Maybe the way to make it through this hell was not by looking at the big picture, but taking one step at a time, waking up every single morning, breathing in and breathing out over and over, until one day she would wake up on the other side of it all.

A/N: Sorry for the long wait for an update! Personal life got pretty busy, I was stuck in bit of writer's block, and I have been putting a lot of my effort into wrapping up another one of my chapter fics. But I am very excited to write this next arc of Wings that involves Asajj!

If it wasn't clear enough, yes, I headcanon both Asajj and Ahsoka as homosexual. It's going to be a subplot that they bond a little over that similarity, while bigger things are going on. Hope you enjoy!