Haunted Shadows

Author's Note: This is... mostly emotion focused. I was really struggling with getting it remotely horror-ish. ;_; A bit choppy, too, but like I said, it was meant to deal with the emotions I guess? Not really my best work. Lol.

~ Rivana Rita

This is for the square "handcuffed together" on the 501st bingo. It's also for Day 2 of Haunted Clone Week. :)

~ Amina Gila


How old is she?

Rex has no idea – their new Commander isn't even up to his shoulder yet. The clothes she's wearing are frankly outrageous, and he can see way too much of her skin. Is that supposed to be safe? The clones certainly wouldn't consider that safe, and he can't look at her without every thought in his mind screaming that she needs to be wearing ten layers of armor to not break half the bones in her body with a single explosion.

It's frankly ridiculous – she's a Jedi, and she wouldn't be with them on the frontlines if she didn't understand what she was doing, if their General is anything to go by.

He's everything to go by – he is their General, and he'll do anything to protect them. That isn't something Rex can even understand. They were made to be expendable. He knew that – always has, and seeing his brothers dying around him is difficult, but it's something Rex always knew he'd face.

His General is watching Ahsoka, expression unreadable, but there's something tight and tense on his face. Anakin is staring a little too fixedly, like he's seeing something else.

"Is... something wrong, sir?" Rex asks tentatively.

"Yeah," General Skywalker answers, shaking his head to snap himself out of the haze. "I don't know what, but I sense something... wrong."

As if they need more wrong.

The gunship touches down.

His brothers are gathered waiting as expected.

"Sir," one of them says, approaching, "Del and Coric still haven't checked in. We haven't heard any signs of them."

Again?

It's been happening since they came.

Ahsoka looks up at Anakin, wide-eyed and worried. Her eyes are blue. Rex hadn't seen blue eyes in his life until he met his General.

"Where were they last?" Anakin asks.

"Sir," Rex interjects, "It's not ideal, but we are prepared to be lost in battle."

"It could lead us to the remaining Separatist forces here," his General replies.

They've already been on Christophsis for a while, longer than Rex anticipated, and he wants to move out from here.

**w**

Rex doesn't have any better a feeling about this now than he did when it started. The battle here should be over soon – the main part of the fighting is over, now that General Kenobi captured the Separatist general.

Everything leads to the same building. That's the thing that Rex understands least. There are no signs of droids on the outside, though there obviously was a battle here at some point in the recent past.

"Place looks abandoned," Ahsoka notes, darting closer. Her skin is orange, and it's so... bright. Rex can't even remember what species she is. He's not going to ask, either, because that would be rude. Her head-things – lekku? Was that the name? – are a little past her shoulders. They look soft, and a little fuzzy.

What would it feel like to touch them?

Why is he even thinking about this?

"I sense there's something more than we're seeing," Anakin replies, eyes narrow, "Stay close, Ahsoka."

Rex draws his blasters, and the three of them move closer.

Ahsoka sticks to Anakin's side, between him and Rex.

She's the Commander, and she technically outranks Rex, but she's still just a kid. He has no idea how he's supposed to treat her as a Commander. He'll worry about it once she proves herself ready and capable.

The General did that with ease – it hadn't even been difficult for Rex to trust him.

But Ahsoka is a padawan, and doesn't that basically mean she's a cadet? Still in-training? There aren't enough Jedi for what's needed on the fronts, his General had explained to him, which was why they started sending padawans out. Rex doesn't know if the kid is ready.

She's just a kid and clones are six at that height. Rex is nine, nearly ten. Physically, he's nineteen, same age as General Skywalker. He has no idea how old Ahsoka really is right now. Is she twelve? Or thirteen? Or – he has no idea how her species ages.

She looks way, way too small, not to mention, outright scrawny.

Yeah, Rex isn't really comfortable dragging her out here, but she's here, and they have to live with it.

"I feel something," Ahsoka says, shivering. "It's cold."

"Yeah," General Skywalker agrees slowly, "It's not the Dark Side, but it feels similar."

Rex doesn't understand enough about Jedi to know what they're talking about. "What do you think it is?" he queries, hoping for a straight Basic answer, not more Jedi... osik.

"We'll have to go in closer."

Anakin leads the way when they step inside the front door. "This looks similar to where Obi-Wan and I fought Ventress," he notes, igniting his lightsaber to light the way. Rex turns on the light on his helmet, shining it around. He doesn't see anything. After a heartbeat, Ahsoka ignites her lightsaber, too.

It's green.

He's seen green lightsabers on Geonosis, but it's somehow different up close.

Rex is still genuinely uncertain as to whether she'd break her wrist if she tried fighting, though. She probably wouldn't be a padawan if she were that fragile, but she's a species he's never seen before, and he doesn't really know how girls are, either. They seem like a strange species of their own, too.

The one thing he does know is that it's cold in here. Their armor is insulated to withstand temperature fluctuation, but he can still feel it.

Ahsoka shivers slightly, shifting closer to her master, who seems entirely unaffected.

He looks tense, though – poised for battle, though Rex doesn't see anything.

He doesn't see any signs of the disappeared clones, either.

"The farther we go, the colder it is," Ahsoka supplies, shivering again. "Is there anything out here?"

They freeze at the sound of footsteps. They sound somewhere from behind them, and Rex whips around, blasters raised, but there's... nothing. Is it from above?

"Something's there," Anakin says, eyes narrowing, "It's afraid." He steps forwards, touching Rex's arm. He lowers his blasters, though stubbornly keeps them out. If whatever's here was hurting his brothers, he's not letting his guard down. "It's okay," he calls to open air. "We're not here to hurt you."

Ahsoka slowly looks up at Anakin.

There's nothing there.

There's not an answer, except a heartbeat later, some of the cold decreases.

"It's... gone?" Ahsoka asks. The slight shake in her voice through her skepticism betrays her fear.

"How could it be gone?" Rex queries, confused.

"Ghosts," Anakin sighs, turning back. "It was afraid of something. I don't know if it's of us, or for us, but we have to go farther."

"Ghosts?" Rex echoes, mind blown. His life is just getting more and more confusing. "That's just great."

"Spirits don't always dissipate into the Force immediately," Anakin continues, walking forwards and up a flight of stairs. "Sometimes, if something is holding them back, they linger for a short time. Considering how severe the battle was, I'm not surprised some are sticking around."

"Well," Ahsoka offers cheerfully, "Most should be on our side, right?"

Anakin's eyes dart to her. "I wouldn't have sensed fear if all the ones here were on our side."

Rex is only half certain what ghosts are, but at least the Jedi are here, as are a group of reinforcements waiting outside the door.

He doesn't like the sound of that.

Upstairs, it's even darker, somehow foreboding, and the icy cold is back again. There are some windows overlooking the outside area, but the temperature is low enough that they're frosted over.

Something's about to happen, and Rex is fairly certain of that. Doesn't really know how he knows, but it's there, and –

Ahsoka yelps as something unseen hits her, shoving her backwards towards the stairs. She falls with a shriek, and Rex fires at the invisible thing. His helmet isn't picking it up, but they know how to aim and loosely pinpoint a target based on senses other than sight. The smoke in battle often obscures sight, and they have to guess.

General Skywalker jumps at it with his lightsaber – now that it's close, Rex can see a sort of hazy gray outline – and it disintegrates.

Rex turns anyway, looking farther into the darkness, expecting more to appear any moment. "Did that just disappear?" he asks, slightly rattled. The General said ghost, but Rex didn't expect it to be this unnerving.

"Yeah, and there's more," he replies, eyes narrowed, "Snips, you okay?"

There's a groan from below, and Rex's worry instantly spikes.

She's not in armor or anything remotely fit for the field. His General wears some armor – not much, but some – and at least he has more clothes. The kid doesn't even wear sleeves. Rex has no idea if that's a species thing, a girl thing, or both, but he thinks that would drive anyone crazy.

He moves back down the stairs to where Ahsoka is pushing herself up, wincing visibly.

"That was a really bad landing," she says, shaking herself. Her arm's sticking at an awkward angle.

Probably broken.

Bones don't bend that sharply.

When he wondered how easily she could break a bone, he really didn't want the actual answer to it.

There's a distant screeching noise, loud and grinding, sharp enough that Rex jumps and whips around towards the darkness again.

Ahsoka is stumbling awkwardly to her feet, and the General jumps over the rail back down to help her up. Her face is tensed with pain, and that's one thing Rex can read on her.

Their Commander was hurt on Rex's first mission with her. It's going to happen, and he knows that, but he doesn't much care for that thought. Rex knows some of how to treat injuries – they have to set it, but he doesn't know if they can do that right now and here.

If it was one of his brothers, they'd ignore it until the mission was over, but this is a child, and Rex doesn't know how to treat her.

"We gotta get that treated," the General says, interrupting his panicking thought process.

"I'll be okay," Ahsoka immediately starts arguing, "We have to find those clones, remember? And whatever's going on here."

Anakin looks at Rex, expression tensed. For the very first time, Rex finds himself wondering if his General has any more of an idea how to act than he does. Rex feels completely lost, in over his head. That was why he asked his General if they would have a kid around to worry about, but if they hadn't taken Ahsoka in, she'd have been Rex doesn't know what would happen to her.

"Alright," Anakin replies, "Wait here. Guard the entrance. I think there's something in the back. I sense someone."

"I can help," she objects, dejectedly.

"I know," Anakin tells her, "By guarding the opening. If we can't get out, it won't matter who we find. If you see something, contact Rex and me. Come on." He gestures to Rex, and they take off.

"You sure about leaving her there alone?" Rex can't help asking.

"She'll be fine," General Skywalker reassures, "She's a padawan, and they'd be less likely to come after her. We're the ones on the offensive, and it's less dangerous than taking her into fighting when she's already injured."

"How'd we get her?" Rex asks, "It's not that I mind, but we weren't prepared for her." He doesn't know what he's doing, and he trusts his General, but he's not about to admit weakness to anyone, no matter how genuine. He's a captain. He can't have weakness.

"I honestly have no idea." Anakin darts up against the wall, moving deeper into the darker building and peaking around the corner. "Obi-Wan was going to get her to work with him on the – I don't know, but he wanted me to take her as a padawan instead. After some... consideration, I accepted."

He hadn't seemed happy about it at first. Rex wasn't. Still isn't. It's not practical. They don't have time to take care of and train a padawan while still being successful. They're trained soldiers, for war and fighting – not in how to take care of Jedi kids. That's something far more practical and not really important. "What would've happened to her, if you hadn't taken her?"

Anakin shakes his head. "I don't know. She'd have become a pilot, probably. Obi-Wan just joined the Council. He doesn't have time for a padawan. She would've –" He cuts himself off, inhaling shakily. "I couldn't be responsible for that."

She would've died, he doesn't want to say, and Rex doesn't want to think about it, either.

"Yeah," he agrees, "I still wish we had some kind of warning."

"You and me both."

It's somehow relieving to know how his General isn't very happy about it, either. Rex has no idea if Ahsoka needs the same medical supplies as humans. He doesn't know if they even have the supplies or rations Ahsoka will need. What does she eat? Rex hasn't had time to research that, and nor is it something he'll have time to in the near future.

Once this battle is over, they'll be prepping for the next, then the next.

That's something the medics might know, though.

"What's her species?" Rex asks, complete seriousness, even if it's a little embarrassing.

Anakin glances at him. "Togruta. Come on."

**w**

They do find Del and Coric in the back, right to where the General was being led to. Both of them are out-of-it enough that they don't even know how they got here. There's no sign of the others, and the tight expression on his General's face mirrors everything Rex feels.

They go back to Ahsoka. She's still waiting, perched on the bottom of the stairs with her eyes on the door, though the room is cold again.

The ghosts are back. That's not a good sign.

The Commander is mid-saying what Rex thinks is going to be a snippy comment about how nothing happened when they were gone before the door starts frosting over.

He noticed that on the windows earlier, but it was never such a rapid temperature drop, and he's guessing this is why no one's made it out.

Rex takes an instinctive, wary step back.

"Better set it now," Anakin says, glancing at Ahsoka, "They're blocking off the doorway. I don't know if our lightsabers can affect them, and we don't want it to get too frozen."

He doesn't like this. She's a child. She might've been trained for it, but she looks so young, and it's obvious that no matter how much of a Jedi she may be, Ahsoka was never trained for war the way the clones were.

It feels wrong to take her somewhere she could get hurt, to have to patch her up after.

Rex can just thank the stars one of the other clones here is a medic and actually knows what to do.

There's no movement, and maybe it's just the cold, but Rex still thinks there's a strange, burning, unnatural energy in the air. It shouldn't be there, and he doesn't know what it is.

They were trained to fight droids, not Jedi things, but that's something they'll have to adapt to deal with.

Just like having a kid around.

He has no idea what he's doing.

Rex honestly thought he got all the training he needed on Kamino, which is different from hands-on training, but still training. He couldn't have been more wrong, and he hopes he'll never be so wrong about anything again.

Hearing Ahsoka's shaky inhales behind him makes him strangely sick.

It's not that his brothers haven't been hurt before – Rex can't count how many he's seen die – but it's different with her. She's so young, and she wasn't meant for this. She wasn't ready, didn't know what...

How in the galaxy is he supposed to protect her, and still complete their mission?

"They're going to attack us if we leave," Anakin says, eyes riveted on the door. Ahsoka's holding his hand tightly with her free hand, and he's been hovering beside her the entire time.

"What do you suggest?" Rex asks, blasters still raised.

"If we want to avoid a fight, we have to find an alternate way out."

"The windows?" Ahsoka suggests.

"If we can make it back upstairs, yeah," he agrees, "Rex and I will go. Del, Coric, stay with Ahsoka."

"Isn't it better if we stick together?" she ventures.

"If we split our forces, they'll do the same," Anakin replies, "One of us has to figure out a way out."

She looks no happier about it than she was earlier when Anakin suggested it the first time, but she doesn't fight about it, either.

**w**

Upstairs is just as unnerving as it was earlier. It feels like there's more ghosts clustered here than there was downstairs, which is saying something. He can tell from the temperature, or maybe it's just nerves talking. That could be it. Hopefully, it is, but Rex is more on edge than he's ever been, expecting something to attack them at any given moment.

After the Commander, he knows how easy that could be. He doesn't know if there's even a way to fight these things.

"Is there anything we can do to fight them?" Rex queries warily. There's a distant howling, and he doesn't know what it is. It's far away, but high-pitched and screeching, like they're talking on a frequency humans can only somewhat hear.

There were several others not accounted for, and they still haven't seen any signs of anyone else. Rex has no idea if they're even here.

"I'm not sure," Anakin admits, "I've never seen them before. We've heard stories at the Temple, but I never knew how real they were. There's a bit of truth to everything, though."

That doesn't help much. How are they supposed to face something that even his General knows nothing about? They'll figure it out, but that makes the current situation no easier.

The windows are frosted over when Rex approaches them. He can see a hazed-over outside, but it doesn't really matter. They're a distance off the ground, not that it affects the Jedi very much.

He feels something icy cold tackle him before they can get too close, and his blaster goes off, though the shot flies wild, hitting nothing. Blasters don't work on ghosts, anyway, apparently.

He can't see it, though instinct says enough of how to fight it. That's the same, but he can't get a grip on the thing. It's a vaguely shadowy figure now, and whether he'll slide right through it or not seems entirely sporadic.

One thing Rex knows without a shred of doubt is that he hates ghosts. And anything remotely paranormal.

...

Except his Jedi, of course.

It throws him onto the ground, and Rex's armor takes the brunt of the blow.

The screeching sounds again, and it jars his brain an irritating amount, to the point where he can't think. He's a trained soldier though, so he knows what to do.

Sort of.

He knows hand-to-hand combat, at least.

Its icy hands wrap around his neck, trying to crush, and Rex kicks it off – it doesn't really have weight, which is an entirely strange concept in and of itself – rolling to his feet and firing at it. The blaster shots do nothing, but the mostly translucent figure pulls back, shrieking.

He winces at the sharpness of the sound, and the creature lunges at him, ripping his blaster away. Rex ducks aside when it starts firing, but there's no real cover here. They're out in the open – this building, whatever it once was, has been abandoned entirely.

General Skywalker slashes the blaster in half with his lightsaber, Force-shoving the ghost back and backing up to stand in front of Rex. "Stand down," he yells at them, "We're here to help."

The gray, mostly translucent silhouettes freeze, gathering around them.

Rex has his other blaster out, just in case, watching warily.

He doesn't think talking to these things will be any more useful than it has been this entire time, start to finish.

There's a heartbeat of nothing, where Rex is half thinking they might've gotten through. Predictably, that's the moment the ghosts jump them.

**w**

Rex really doesn't remember what happened. All he knows is that he wakes up freezing, and his head is throbbing.

Something feels like death, and he doesn't know what that means. Death doesn't really have a feeling – it's cold and dark, but that's obvious. This is... similar, just more oppressive. Until right now, Rex always thought post-battle depression was his imagination, not something beyond-physical.

He doesn't know where he is, but everything is still cold, through his armor and all. Rex shifts a little, turning his head subtly as he blinks awake, trying to avoid alerting anyone. He's on his side, and from the position, they probably just dumped him here. Wherever here is.

There are no sounds, except quiet but close breathing.

He's in stun-cuffs, and they – oh, it's one of those – they're attached to his General, who's nearby. It's one of those kinds where they won't be going anywhere without dragging each other around for a while. Not that Rex really has a problem with that, but with ghosts, it's still inconvenient.

"Hey," Anakin says, leaning over him, "You okay?"

"What happened?" Rex queries, shifting a little. Anakin is lying beside him still, facing him, though he looks fully alert.

"They're natives of this planet," he replies, "I'm not sure if they're angry that the Republic didn't come fast enough, or if they're the few Separatist supporters here. Either way, they're angry, and they blame us for what happened to them and their planet."

Rex never... thought about the casualties for natborns and civilians. It's not something he was raised to think about. It's not his responsibility. They're supposed to be careful about that, obviously, but being confronted by it is totally different. "That doesn't sound good," he offers.

"We'll be fine," Anakin replies calmly – way too calmly, in Rex's opinion, but he's a Jedi, so he must understand better what's happening. Rex is grateful that at least his General is level-headed about this, because he has no idea what he'd do otherwise.

On that note, the Commander's still downstairs.

"The Commander?"

"Still here," Anakin replies, "Not here, but downstairs." Right on cue, a blaster shot rings out. "Sounds like we better get going."

Aside from how they're also attached to a pole that he's fairly certain is some central support?

Rex is so done with this planet.

"How?" he asks. He doesn't have a blaster. The ghosts must have taken that.

Anakin must've caught Rex's look. "I don't have my lightsaber, either."

Rex lets out a half-frustrated groan. "How do we get out, then?"

Anakin eyes the pillar, "We'll figure it out." He looks half amused, and Rex eyes him.

"You... find this amusing?" he queries incredulously.

"We were captured by ghosts," his General tells him, "It is amusing." Put so bluntly, it is slightly amusing. "I can break the central pillar to get us out, but that won't get us out of our stuncuffs."

Rex scans the room while his General turns towards the center to focus, or whatever it is he does with the Force. He sees his helmet a distance away – the ghosts must have taken that off, too. They're not in a part of the building he's seen before – it must be yet another floor up. They don't know this part, but they'll figure out a way out. He could've shot out the window if he had a blaster, but that's not presently an option.

He doesn't know how to get out of here, but he trusts Anakin. He'll figure something out. He always has, and Rex trusts him. He's saved his life many times over already.

Now that there's nothing happening, he can hear distant... whispers. It's unnerving.

There's a disturbing screech as the pillar starts fracturing. Whatever he's doing, it sounds like it's working.

Ahsoka is still downstairs, hopefully – or at least she's not around up here. Anakin is her master, and the details about taking care of her aren't something Rex needs to worry about – he can hopefully let his General deal with that – but he still doesn't understand.

"We were never prepared for having a youngling around," Rex ventures, because this is something they need to talk about. "I don't know what it involves."

"I had a mother," his General responds, and Rex's brain freezes. Yes, Anakin is a natborn, but Rex has no idea what it would mean to have a parent. He can't even imagine it. "She raised me in worse circumstances than this. We survived. I can only do what she did for me."

"What does that mean for the boys and me?" Rex inquires. "How do we handle it?"

"I don't know," he admits. Anakin is free with admitting when he doesn't know things or... just things in general. He's honest, sometimes brutally so, and Rex likes that about him. He's never had a friend before, but if that's what this is, he likes it. "It's going to take some getting used to, but we'll figure it out. We have to protect her, but there are going to be times that Ahsoka will have to cover for both of us. She needs to learn."

She's so small. She looks – and is – breakable, and Rex can't imagine her facing the brutality of war. He's used to it, but she's not, and he can't imagine doing anything except shielding her from it.

Whatever they do, they'll have to figure it out together.

He startles at the sound of more blaster shots downstairs.

It doesn't sound good.

That's when something else catches his attention – footsteps? Someone's coming. Light and fast and familiar.

Ahsoka?

"Master?" she calls, and Rex finally spots her atop the staircase on the far side of the room.

"Here," Anakin calls back, waving, "We could use a hand."

Rex thinks she visibly sags with relief when she finally lays eyes on them. "You need a – lightsaber?" she guesses, darting forwards. Her broken arm is in a sling across her chest.

It's too dark to see more than that.

"The ghosts took it," Rex answers when his General doesn't say anything right off, eyes still narrowed in concentration.

"Oh." Ahsoka shuffles closer, igniting her lightsaber.

Anakin nods to her, and she crosses the room, cutting through their restraints.

It's relieving to finally be able to move again. He misses the proximity a little, though – maybe they're closer than he realized, which doesn't make sense. Clones aren't supposed to form bonds with people. They can't get slowed down because they care. And it isn't that he doesn't care – he just can't let that interfere with the mission, no matter who it is.

But if they have a child to take care of...

They have to balance protecting her with the opposite, and Rex has no idea what that means. He'll just do his best, and let Anakin worry about the rest. He'll know what to do.

Ahsoka looks up at him, eyes bright and alert, fiercely determined. She's not afraid, even if Rex is.

He's terrified of her being hurt, doesn't know how to help her.

Anakin moves forwards first, and Rex and Ahsoka follow a short distance behind.

Ahsoka sticks close when they go back down.

Rex fires at the ghost the moment he lays eyes on the faint outline. It turns towards him, snarling fiercely, and Ahsoka jumps forwards, raising her hand to do whatever Force-thing they do.

General Skywalker moves on to shield the others. "Ahsoka, the door," he yells.

She nods, sprinting towards the door, only to be thrown back with a yelp.

That's what Rex was afraid of. There's literally no way past these things.

The General steps forwards, hands raised towards them and eyes narrowed. Rex can feel something sort of vibrating in the air, and he doesn't know what it means, but considering the circumstances? He thinks it's good. Can hope, at least.

"Stand down," he orders, and there's something... different in his tone. "Let us through."

Ahsoka freezes, eyes widening a little as she looks up at him, though her lightsaber is still poised and ready for attack.

Rex doesn't really follow the meaning, but he knows it's important. Mind-trick, maybe? Would that even work on a ghost? It's not like he knows anything about Jedi, though, to be fair.

"Go," Anakin orders, eyes narrowed on the door. "Now's our chance. I'll hold them off."

Rex glances at him, warily, but orders are orders, and he trusts his General. He'll be fine.

"But –" Ahsoka starts to argue.

"Go," he orders.

Rex can see her worry, but she complies, moving forwards. "Follow me," she orders, approaching the lines of ghosts fearlessly.

He doesn't know what she's doing, but for as young and unskilled as she might be, she's still a Jedi, and Rex trusts her. He's going to have to learn to trust her, whether he likes it or not, even if it doesn't really feel right to.

It's not that he doesn't – it's just that it feels like they should be protecting her, not letting her out in the front like they'll have to. It'll take adjusting for all of them, and she wasn't trained as a soldier, any more than they were trained in dealing with Jedi padawans.

They'll learn.

It's starting to seem a little more... possible.

It's dark out when they finally step outside again.

Ahsoka looks exhausted, practically dead on her feet. She's so... small. He wants to tell her to get some rest, but they're not safe yet.

Anakin backs out of the building a few moments later, and the doors close. "We need to put that building off limits," he says, "I don't know if they'll attack anyone who goes inside, but most won't be ready for what's in there."

Rex couldn't agree more.

But that's over now, and they need to keep moving, finish up Christophsis and whatever's next.

He's still a bit... wary about Ahsoka's presence, but he trusts Anakin's word. They'll figure it out, and he won't be alone.

She got hurt on their first mission together, and he's not exactly... terribly optimistic about it. Rex is a captain – he acts based on reality, not hope. He can't afford to get his brothers killed because he misjudged something.

That includes Ahsoka now, too.

Maybe he's just overthinking it.

"We'll figure it out," Anakin tells him quietly before they head back to regroup with the rest of their forces.

Rex glances at Ahsoka, where she's watching them, awaiting their return, still as calm as ever. "We'll have to," he agrees dryly, "Or she might end up in the wrong galaxy someday."

Anakin laughs. "Yeah."

Maybe for once, he can believe they'll be fine.

**w**

"Did your parents ever argue?" the girl asks – Ahsoka doesn't remember her name. Maybe it's become a bit of a thing now, for her to go places and never remember anyone. It helps distance herself from everything, and she doesn't want to bond.

As a Jedi, Ahsoka never had parents the way most people do. The way this girl did. The way Rafa and Trace used to.

But parents are... people who raise you, right? They care for you. They love you, protect you, and... give you what you need to survive.

Her mind instantly jumps to two faces from far away, of people who believed in and stood by her, who would do anything for her.

She remembers them, their home, their – everything.

Remembers Rex's half-hearted annoyance in his "next time, just tell me to jump" and Anakin's perpetually cheerful "where's the fun in that?"

She smiles a little, through the chest-crushing pain of remembering the days where she had a family, had someone to take care of her. Maybe they're not here with her, maybe they never will be again, but she still is what they made her. They still live in her, are in her. "All the time."

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