Chapter 11 - Citadel
Author's Note: Nothing is going as planned. ;)
~ Amina Gila
Jacen knew this moment would come someday, when he found himself face-to-face with someone from his past, but he just never expected it like this. Most of his missions have been minor, because he still lacks much skill, but the Republic and Separatists were attempting to access the coordinates for a hyperspace route to Coruscant.
And a team of clones, led by Yaddle, was trying to get to them, too. The information was destroyed before he could retrieve it, but they captured the Republic forces, taking them to the prison on Lola Sayu.
Sometimes, it's hard to think it's been over a year since he joined the Separatists. It feels like so much longer – so much separates those times. He misses everyone as a constant, glaring ache inside of him, an emptiness that feels like it's eating him inside out and fueling the Dark Side. There had been only so long he could hold off its call.
"Padawan Skywalker," Yaddle greets, where she sits in her cell.
He knows what the Separatists would normally do in a case like this, but he can't. He won't torture her, or... anyone, preferably. Even now, he doesn't want to hurt anyone, even if it feels inevitable, and... necessary.
"That's not who I am anymore," Jacen replies, sharply. Roughly, he shoves back memories of when she taught him and Ahsoka when they were younger, when things were simpler. Those days are the past, and what he's doing is for Ahsoka too.
"We believed you lost," she replies. Her disappointment with him is obvious, not that it matters.
He fights back the instinctive urge to start demanding how Anakin and everyone have been, or if they're all okay. He's heard briefly that Ahsoka is Anakin's padawan, but he doesn't know anything specific. "You left me for dead," he responds flatly.
"Many were lost in the battle. We could not search for everyone and risk losing even more."
It's a fair point, but sometimes, it still hurts.
"You have embraced the Dark Side."
Talking disrespectfully to her feels wrong, even now, but he can't... afford to be distracted right now. "You have questioned the path the Order was on before, as well," Jacen argues, "I found another path, one where I can truly make changes and help people."
Yaddle looks decidedly disapproving. "The Dark Side is not the answer, padawan. You know this," she chides, even if the tone is less harsh than he might have expected, "You will only destroy, and lose yourself to it."
"I haven't yet," Jacen retorts. He can't let her plant doubts in his mind – he doubts himself enough as is. "And to end this conflict, we need the coordinates that I believe you destroyed."
"Why do you believe I have them?" she asks, calmly, "The information was deleted, unless you were able to retrieve it."
Seriously? Does she think he'd be that stupid? "I spoke with your Commander. He confirmed you have the rest of the information," he shoots back, "And you will tell me."
He has no idea how people are supposed to do this, to be... threatening. How do you threaten a Jedi Master when you don't intend to hurt them, anyway? Mind-tricking the information out of her Commander, Tarkin, was simple enough. As was... killing him, since he can't let this information fall into Republic hands. Even if they get Yaddle they won't have all of it.
"Consider what you are doing, young one," Yaddle cautions, "If you desire to help, this is not the way to do it. Come back, and you can make up for whatever crimes you have already committed."
Right. As if that's how it works. "I should hope you know what the Council would do to a Dark Sider," Jacen shoots back. Besides, this isn't just about himself, "I will end this war, no matter what. I know you can see that the Republic is only prolonging it senselessly."
"That is true," she concedes, "But you know the Sith are behind all this."
"Being a Sith doesn't mean they can't do good." He... has come to see that, like Dooku said he would. The Dark Side doesn't have to be evil. Because in truth... if the Jedi were fighting for the Separatists, they'd be doing the exact same thing he is now, and it would change very little. Neither side is truly better, but at least the Separatists are trying to do something about corruption, The Republic is not. And this conversation isn't getting anywhere.
Somehow, he has to get answers from her, and he truthfully doesn't know how to do that, short of drugging her maybe, and... he doesn't know.
Especially because the more they talk, the more they go in circles.
Something is tingling at the edge of his senses now, Something – and that's when Jacen suddenly feels it.
He stumbles back a step, a quiet gasp escaping him. Anakin.
He can feel him, close, on planet right now. Anakin is here. He hasn't sensed his brother in well over a year, and he can feel him now. He's here. And Jacen doesn't know if that fills him with more excitement or fear, for what it will mean.
**w**
The carbon freezing worked perfectly, Anakin notes, as he shakes off the stiffness from having been frozen in it so long. The rescue here was planned down to the smallest detail, except the part where Ahsoka is here, and she was not supposed to be.
"Hey, Master," the Togruta greets cheerfully, rubbing her lekku – probably trying to shake off the effects of being carbon-frozen.
Suddenly, beyond Ahsoka's very obvious presence where it shouldn't be, Anakin can feel something else. And it feels like – no, it's not possible. It can't be. It –
Cautiously, he reaches out with the Force, nudging the long-still bond. He never felt it break, but he had no reason to think otherwise.
But now, he can distinctly feel Jacen's presence.
His brother is here, right now.
And –
He's been alive all this time.
His brother is alive. True, Anakin may have suspected, but he never let himself believe that it might be true until this very moment. Shock fills him first, and that slowly fades to a blinding determination. He might promise repeatedly that his attachment to Jacen won't interfere with his duty, but this time, he doesn't care. Not now. Jacen is alive, and – also, at a Separatist prison, so Anakin can only guess what that means. They must've found him on Geonosis, and imprisoned him, and... he is going to find him, no matter what it takes. They can afford a small deviation from the plan; they just need to move.
"I sense it too," Ahsoka breathes, looking up to meet his eyes.
He can address the fact that she snuck along later. "He's here," Anakin agrees.
"Who's here?" Obi-Wan asks, approaching.
"Jacen. I can sense him."
"You're certain?" Obi-Wan queries, disbelievingly.
"I could never miss it," Ahsoka replies firmly, "It's him."
And Force knows what's been happening to him all this time. Anakin doesn't even know what his condition is, but he's alive and maybe, maybe they have a chance at making this better. "When we break into the system to determine where Master Yaddle is being kept, and we can search through the prisoner logs," Anakin decides, and they move out, without wasting another moment.
Except the deeper they go into the facility, he can sense Jacen somewhere close. Almost like he's moving around, but Anakin doesn't have time to worry about it while they try to avoid being fried or blown up.
He can hear droids right around the corner, but the last thing he's expecting when they round it is to see Jacen himself standing there, blue lightsaber drawn, flanked by a group of droids. He looks older, different, and there's something distinctly darker about him now.
For a heartbeat, no one moves. No one breathes.
Anakin feels frozen; all he can do is stare because what?! How is Jacen – he's... he's with the droids. He's not a prisoner; he's on their side. What?
Jacen looks no less... shocked, and it's unsurprisingly Ahsoka who recovers herself first. "Jacen?" she asks slowly, incredulously.
"Ahsoka," he replies, expression closed off, though Anakin can feel his longing. It's obvious he missed them. He has, clearly, and Anakin can't understand why he's doing this. It doesn't make sense. What happened to him? If Jacen was alive all this time, where has he been? Why hasn't he come back? Why wouldn't he if he could have? This doesn't make sense. Why...
"Jacen," he breathes at last, "How... what..." He struggles to regather himself to keep from blurting out anything particularly embarrassing. But the reality of the situation is not lost on him. Jacen is fighting against them. "What are you doing here? Why are you doing this?"
"For the same reasons you are," he replies, stonily, "Can't you see what's happening around you? That the Republic has already fallen? You're fighting for an illusion."
"Are you okay?" he asks, despite himself – when Jacen is verbally tearing apart everything Anakin has worked for, he should say something else, should defend the Jedi, but right now he... can't. All he cares about is that his brother is alive, and where has he been all this time, what has he been doing?
"I'm fine," he answers after a brief pause, "I recovered with Dooku's help after the Jedi left me on Geonosis." Anakin can sense a strange amount of bitterness from him – it's not dark, not the same way Dooku is, but it's still of the Dark Side, and it's strong enough to scare him.
"Padawan Skywalker has embraced the Dark Side," Yaddle tells them, something sorrowful in her voice. "We can no longer trust his words."
Anakin hardly succeeds in holding back the 'but he's my brother' that wants to escape, because of one thing he is certain: Jacen wouldn't ever tell them something he didn't truly believe. And he wouldn't have done this without reason.
"Is that true?" Ahsoka demands, hurt ringing clear in her voice.
"Stand down," Jacen says in lieu of a reply, though it's an answer enough. Something twists sharply inside him at that realization. Never did Anakin consider that Jacen could have joined Dooku, even all the times he found himself wondering if his brother survived. Not once did it cross his mind, because it was always too unthinkable. Jacen was never Light, exactly, but he certainly never showed any sort of inclination towards the Dark. That he's Fallen is... "We can end this war here, now, far faster than it would be if you left. That's what you want, isn't it?"
"What's wrong with you?" Ahsoka demands, stepping forwards. She's hurt, and her hurt is rapidly shifting to anger.
"I'm doing what I have to. Just like you are."
"You are vastly outmatched," Obi-Wan interjects, effectively cutting short the conversation, "Surrender, and the Jedi Council will ensure you a fair trial. Mistakes were made on both parts."
"This isn't about me," Jacen defends, "It's about the galaxy. When the Jedi Council doesn't ensure justice regarding its own citizens, why should I believe that they would grant it to me? And even if they did, it would not change that you are leading a slave army."
Of course, Anakin realizes numbly, Jacen is angry about that. He would be. Anakin is angry too, and he has questioned it on many occasions, but there was nothing he could do. After the war, he had always thought there would be a way to free the clones, even if he knows it's wrong to wait as is. Everything about the situation is wrong, but the Jedi couldn't let the Sith win, either. They simply couldn't... allow the galaxy to descend into chaos without taking an active role. "After everything the Separatists have done, can't you see you're on the wrong side?" he questions.
"And for everything the Republic has done, is doing? There's no difference. It's only a matter of what is downplayed, what you know of and do not know of. It's a question of orders versus freedom."
He's intentionally making an emotional appeal now, which Anakin can almost feel himself cracking under. He can't refuse Jacen's request, can't walk away from him right after finding out he survived. He wouldn't be able to, either way. And they both know how each other thinks about freedom. "Jacen," he argues, "The Sith are not the answer."
"Then what is?" Jacen throws back sharply, voice rising for the first time. "Because you and I both know, Anakin, that the Jedi are wrong."
Obi-Wan is looking to Yaddle, Anakin can feel it, and they're planning something, but he can't bring himself to tear his eyes off Jacen.
Yaddle is the first to move forwards, using her small size to spin more easily through the air and avoid everyone in her path, igniting her green lightsaber and slashing at Jacen. Instincts scream at him to instantly go to his brother's rescue, but... Anakin can't do that, and he doesn't have a second longer to think before the droids open fire, and the clones do as well.
Anakin himself moves forwards to cover for Echo and Fives, and Ahsoka goes for Droidbait and Cutup – really, Hevy doesn't need anyone to cover for him, but he's near Ahsoka, anyway. Rex is by Anakin, and they've all worked together for years. Despite that, the droids are gaining ground. There's just too many of them.
"We have to fall back," Anakin calls, alarm flaring through him when he sees one of the shots glancing off Droidbait's armor. He's too true to his name sometimes.
"Then go," Obi-Wan calls to him, and they start backing down the hall, though they'll have to go a lot faster if they're actually going to make it.
Rex, ever the fast thinker, flips his blaster to stun and stuns Jacen before he can try stopping them. It still hurts to see him fall to the floor, motionless, Force-presence dimming quiet, and know that's probably so much like what happened on Geonosis when he was captured. But this, at least, Anakin has seen countless times with Ahsoka in training, so he doesn't let it stop him, focusing instead on cutting through droid after droid.
"We have to go," Obi-Wan calls to him as he hears clattering form the end of the hall – more droids, maybe destroyers. He hopes not.
"I can't leave him!" Anakin protests sharply. He didn't get Jacen back right now only to lose him again, and this time, by choice.
"You can't get him back if you're dead!" Obi-Wan throws back. He has a point, even if the knowledge is something beyond gutting. Broken, he thinks, is a better term, but Anakin gathers himself together anyway, the way he always has to, because Ahsoka and Rex and the Republic and so many people are counting on him.
And as always, Anakin can't deny the truth to what Obi-Wan is telling him, so regardless of what he wants, he draws the Force to him and shoves the droids in front of them back, and they sprint down the hall. They still have a chance of getting Jacen, if he wakes up and follows them. Anakin can only hope.
**w**
None of this makes any sense, and Ahsoka's never felt so confused, hurt, and angry in a long time. She mourned for Jacen for an entire year, and even if she got used to it with time, she never ceased thinking about him. She couldn't.
But apparently, he was alive the whole time, and he never came back. Because he joined the Separatists. And it must have been... willingly, from how he was talking and acting, right?
She just wants to – she doesn't even know, but she wants to yell at him and demand answers, but they don't have time. All they can do now is run.
Breaking out of the facility is unsurprisingly difficult when everyone is after them – even Jacen,and she doesn't understand – but they finally make it outside, and head to the rendezvous point where Master Plo is supposed to pick them up, since their shuttle was blown up before they could get to it.
Droids are swarming them on all sides, and it's hard to fight them right near the rivers of lava. It's only the protective suits they're wearing that's keeping anyone alive.
Ahsoka's cutting through a crab droid when a blaster shot strikes Yaddle, the same moment one of the... animals chasing them jumps her.
"Master Yaddle!" Ahsoka yells, panic flaring, sprinting to her side, slashing through the creature before dropping next to her.
"Master?" she asks urgently, dropping next to her. The injury isn't serious, but if they don't get out soon, it might be.
"The coordinates," Yaddle coughs, "I must tell you, in case..."
"You'll be fine," she argues, firmly. She can't imagine Yaddle dying. It's not – it can't happen. It can't.
"In case," she repeats, and Ahsoka leans closer to listen, filing away the information for later. She cannot forget this. They need to get the information to Coruscant immediately. Although apparently, half of it's already been lost, but this is better than nothing.
Seeing Yaddle like this fills her with a helpless anger, because this is partly Jacen's doing,and she has no idea what's wrong with him.
One of the clones carries Yaddle, and they take off again, reaching the middle of a lava fall with no way from one island to the next except with extension cables, and Ahsoka can already hear incoming speeders.
She whips out her lightsabers, deflecting blasts away when the droids on speeders streak into view, except then she spots Jacen on one of them. She runs for him, flipping through the air the moment he's low enough, jumping onto the back of his speeder, tackling him off it.
They both crash to the ground, rolling across the hot sand before she hastily pushes herself up. Jacen does, too, reaching for his dropped lightsaber.
"What's wrong with you?" Ahsoka yells, "Do you know what you're doing?"
"I told you, this is the only way," he argues.
"How could you let the Sith blind you like this?!"
Blaster shots are still ringing out all around them, and she sees the speeder Anakin jumped on crash onto the opposite bank. She's the only one left here, and she can clearly feel Anakin's fear because they're separated and now there's nothing he can do to get back over to her without being shot.
"Stay here, and I can explain everything," Jacen says, and he dares to sound hopeful.
As though she would ever do that.
Except she doesn't have time to consider it, because more droids circle in, attacking her, and she starts slashing through them as fast as she can. Jacen yells at them to stand down – which catches her more than a little off-guard because he certainly didn't before – and she's spinning away from cutting the last one down anyway when a stunbolt strikes her.
With how much she's been stunned thanks to training with the boys, it doesn't take her out instantly. Or at least, she doesn't hit the ground, slipping into unconsciousness, before catching sight of Jacen lowering a blaster.
**w**
"Ahsoka!" Anakin calls, desperately, unable to do anything but watch as his little brother picks up a stunned Ahsoka, moving for a waiting speeder.
He's this close to Force-jumping across the bank anyway to try and get to them, except there's more droids coming in on speeders, and Obi-Wan catches his arm before he can try. "Don't try it," he warns.
"I am not leaving them here."
"We don't have a choice," he replies, firmly, "We can come back for them, but if you stay, we will all die."
"Jacen wouldn't –"
"Then why did he join the Sith? And he's not the one in command here," Obi-Wan reminds.
"We have no way of finding them again," Anakin argues, even if he knows there's little he can do now. But how can he just walk away?
"We will in time," Obi-Wan assures, even if it's a pointless reassurance, because they have no way of knowing that. Even if Anakin knows there's no way this could be the last time he sees them. Jacen wanted him to join him, and – he'll try to find them again if nothing else, right?
He still doesn't see how his brother could do this, or... anything. And now Ahsoka is gone, too. It helps only slightly that it's Jacen who took her, so Anakin knows he won't... hurt her.
He doesn't have any longer to consider it before Plo's gunships come flying in to pick them up.
The implications of all this are still sinking in, in the long flight back to Coruscant. Jacen is alive. And somehow, he's a Dark Sider, and though Anakin needs answers about that, at least he's alive.
But he also just lost Ahsoka, and he has no idea what's going to happen to her. Jacen won't hurt her, but will it even be his choice? Anakin doesn't know what led to Jacen joining Dooku, after all. He doesn't know if it was willingly or... anything, even if he seems to firmly believe in the side he's on now.
He needs to be able to talk to him, but this is the first time they've even seen traces of him. The Separatists have plenty of random agents aside from Ventress who fight for them, and they have no way of figuring out where Jacen is, or any way to find them. It's unlikely he or Ahsoka are going to be staying on Lola Sayu now.
It would be too easy to find them, and Jacen has clearly been staying out of the Republic's eye all this time. Why, though, Anakin can't understand. If he survived, why didn't he come back?
**w**
Anakin goes to see Shmi as soon as he gets back to Coruscant. He's hardly been able to see her since the war started, and to think all this time that Jacen is alive and hasn't been able to see her at all. He still doesn't understand why he... never tried contacting them or anything.
"He's alive, Mom," Anakin breaths, the moment she asks what's... wrong. Of course, she noticed immediately. "Jacen is alive."
"He is?" she asks, faintly.
"Yes. The Separatists found him. But he's... Something happened. He joined Dooku. He believes it is the only way to help the galaxy. I do not understand why."
It doesn't make sense to him either, even if he knows that Jacen does have some points. He knows the Republic isn't all right – it never could be, simply out of nature of what war is, but he's seen what the Separatists do. That is too far. Their brutality is something the Republic doesn't have – save a few battalions who are looked down on by the rest, like Pong Krell's. The Separatists did have legitimate concerns about the Republic, but their corruption is far worse.
She looks more than a little caught off-guard by the news, unsurprisingly. "But he's alright?"
Anakin nods, and about this part of it, he's never been so relieved in his life. His little brother is alive, and even the situation is beyond complicated, if he's alive there's a chance they can do... something. He doesn't know what the Council would do if they captured him.
"Are you alright?" she adds, "What happened when you saw each other?"
"He wanted me to join him. And he captured Ahsoka." Everywhere he turns, he's expecting to see her next to him, only to remember that she's gone. He was so busy fighting off the droids, he didn't have time to notice that she was left behind until it was too late. But maybe... if she's there, maybe she can bring Jacen home.
So long as it doesn't get both of them hurt even worse in the process.
"You'll find him," his mother assures, "He would not have done this without reason, unless it was not within his control. I know you can bring him back."
Somehow, that reassures him more than anything else could. "I will, Mom," he promises, and he means it.
It's only a question of how and when.
**w**
"What will the Council do?" Anakin inquires, when he runs into Obi-Wan again. Everything feels so empty without Ahsoka, and he has no idea what's happening to her. She shouldn't have gone to the Citadel in the first place, and now... He doesn't know when he'll see her or Jacen again. He should have stayed closer to her. It should have been him who was captured, not Ahsoka. Never Ahsoka. He was supposed to protect her. How hard can that be?
"There is little we can do," Obi-Wan replies, "Searching for him is not a top priority, unless he is causing severe problems for the Republic, which as of now, he is not."
That's... both good and bad, but Anakin knew this would happen. That's why he didn't want to leave Lola Sayu in the first place. "I cannot simply leave him there. And we must find Ahsoka,"
"If they are spotted anywhere, we will hear about it," he points out.
It's better than nothing, but he doesn't want to wait. "If we find him, what will happen?" Anakin can't help but ask.
Obi-Wan is quiet for a moment. "That will depend on him. If he is cooperative, it will be easier. You know he will be treated fairly."
That still doesn't speak much for what his fate will be. Because truthfully, Anakin has no idea what's going to happen, but... he can't let anyone hurt him. He won't. "We do not know if he had a choice," Anakin points out, finally.
"He had an opportunity to leave with us, and he chose not to."
He can't argue that point, especially not when it's confusing him so much.
"Are you... alright?" Obi-Wan asks, eyeing him.
"We must find them," is all he says. It's all they can say. If only it were enough to make it happen.
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