Nearsight Shadow

Chapter 1 - Long Way From Home

Author's Note: Welcome to the third Sith mystery we've written! The first two are Among Us and Identity Crisis, neither of which you need to read, but both of which you might find interesting anyway.

As always, we enjoy hearing your theories about who the Sith in question is! :)

~ Amina Gila

Ahsoka is as grateful for the attack on Coruscant as she is upset about it. Really. Being away is nice, because it gives her distance from the Council and from everything, but it's... also nice to come home. And here, she has a guarantee of being with Anakin, at least for a short time.

And... okay, she's just very glad to see Lux again.

Though walking through the Senate building is not something she likes. It reminds her of when she was brought there for her trial. Bitter, Ahsoka thinks, is an understatement for how she feels about everything that transpired.

She gave everything for the Council, but they didn't believe in her. Only Anakin did, but she forces that away, lets it go into the Force. How she could keep her fear from clouding her vision, when the Council didn't, Ahsoka doesn't understand.

Since, after her Knighting, she had more leeway room, Ahsoka cannot say what formed between her and Lux, because it's not... far, really, but sometimes she wants it to be.

Plus, returning to Coruscant means returning to... the strange goings on, the voices.

"Are you okay?" Anakin inquires of her quietly, as she hears the transport speeder Obi-Wan is on leaving.

"I'm fine," she assures automatically. "It's nothing." Anakin hovering over her is one thing that never changed. She hadn't wanted to stay at the Senate, but she has no reason to go back to the Temple except for a medbay checkup, and really, she wasn't hurt that bad when Dooku smashed her into the rail. It was just enough to make her see stars, but she shook it off fast. Ooookay, maybe it wasn't that fast, because the fight was over when she awoke.

Anakin pauses, reaching out to squeeze her shoulder. There's a softness and familiarity in it, and she leans into it. "It's alright if you aren't."

Ahsoka hasn't really been able to open up to anyone after what happened. Barriss was her friend. The Council threw her out of the Order. They didn't even look into evidence. They should have known that Ahsoka was trustworthy, that she would never do that. Why Anakin was the only one who believed her innocent, Ahsoka can't understand.

Every moment, she finds herself fearing losing him, fearing him losing faith in her, too, but Anakin has never been that way.

"You can't do that to him," the strange voice in her mind had whispered that late afternoon, and she couldn't help listening. After everything Anakin did for her, it would be cruel and ungrateful to leave him.

Even if she's a Jedi and shouldn't let that attachment cloud her vision. Even if she can't blindly follow the Council as she once did. "We are stronger together," Anakin had told her, once, "I wanted to leave the Order myself once. I saw how many needed help, but we can't help if we're alone. We are meant to be a part of something bigger, Ahsoka."

Ahsoka shakes her head again. She has felt... darkness in the voice in her head, and she hasn't dared tell anyone about any of it. "No, it's nothing."

She feels Anakin's worried eyes on her, but neither of them mentions it again.

Amidst the crowd, though, Ahsoka sees some familiar faces. Senator Organa is the first to greet them. Ahsoka doesn't know him on a personal level, but he's friends with Anakin. He's friends with Obi-Wan, too. Senator Organa is much of a realist, which makes him and Anakin see each other in a way Senator Amidala and Anakin never have.