The Unchronicled Adventures of Ahsoka Tano, Book Eight

Chapter Sixty-Three: On Death And Freedom

AHSOKA TANO

Ahsoka shifted her body into a simple battle stance, conscious all the while of her swollen belly, as she wasn't more than a few days away from giving birth. But, from his place in Lux's body, Maul noticed her glance discreetly down to her tummy.

"Your child is strong with the Force," he whispered in Lux's voice. "They will grow up to be a Force user worthy of tutelage in the Sith arts."

"I won't let you take my baby away from me!" she yelled. "You've already taken Lux... You won't put any more innocent lives towards your own selfish gain. I promise that, Maul."

She spat out his name like a curse, putting as much venom as she was capable of into her voice, but he seemed to take her words as a challenge.

"Innocents mean nothing. All are guilty of something. And I took the youngling once." His evil smile grew at her horrified expression. "Yes, Jedi. That is where I have been hiding all of these months. What's to stop me from doing it again?"

"I'll find a way..." She took a deep breath, calming herself with that simple action. "We Jedi always find a way."

Suddenly, the glass wall that separated Ahsoka's room in the medical wing exploded inwards, sending shards of glass flying at her!

But she didn't duck behind something, as Maul was forced to. Instead, she used the Force to create a shield in between her and the tiny sharp projectiles. As if hitting a durasteel surface, they bounced harmlessly away from her.

But even so, she felt something snap deep inside her. She could feel the presence of incredible powers of the Light Side of The Force she hadn't yet reached, powers that would allow her play her part in what was yet to come. They would make sure she did something to aid in the fall of the Galactic Empire.

Ahsoka came back to reality a moment later. It turned out that remaining standing was the best decision she could have made in her current situation. For that way, she noticed the arrival of her reinforcements, while Maul did not, and therefore couldn't intercept them.

"Artoo?" she said, surprised, looking upon her old Master's favorite Astromec, who was near the door. The droid in question beeped a greeting, and opened a slot in his domed head. Immediately, she recognized the gentle pull of the heart of her lightsaber: its green crystal, which, even without its complementary shoto, was connected to her on some deeper level than was normally thought.

R2-D2 hit the ejector, and her laser sword flew towards her. She caught it neatly, igniting the blade. Its hum was a comfort and a reminder of who she was, chasing away any of the shadows Maul had tried to seduce her to the Dark Side with that were left in her mind.

Again, Ahsoka felt the calm and sensible perception of the Force, whispering to her what she needed to do to save Lux. She closed her eyes for a moment in silent meditation, using the Force, instead of her eyes, to feel Maul stand up again.

When she opened her eyes again, they were no longer just their beautiful blue; instead, they were white gold, with the thinnest sliver of turquoise around her pupils. She glowed with some sort of otherworldly white light, and she could feel the power of her Electric Judgment flowing through her.

She looked at Maul, and saw something strange on his host's face. It was an emotion that one did not usually associate with the Sith at all. It was fear. Maul drew a red lightsaber from his belt, hefting it as he prepared to go on offense, but he wasn't able to hide the dread in his eyes.

And then, once she sensed that his apprehension had reached its climax, she held out her hand. Tiny bolts of electricity danced over her palm, converging at her fingertips. She pointed them towards the Sith Lord with a warning look, giving him one last chance to back down and free Lux.

He didn't take it.

Ahsoka focused all of her energy into her hand, and could even swear that the energy concentrated around her belly – her baby's Force-sensitivity – was being redirected to help as well. Her lightening shot from her fingertips, wrapping Lux's body in golden-white tendrils. It floated a few feet off the ground.

"I will draw you, Maul, as poison is drawn from a wound," she growled.

Ignoring the Sith Lord's screams of pain, which he was cleverly doing in Lux's voice in an attempt to get her to stop, she continued to electrocute him. Her mind was shielded to Maul's pain, but she couldn't help but remember when she had been forced to use the same technique to cure Lux of a sudden fall to the Dark Side many years before. This was different than before, but yet strikingly similar.

Finally, Maul's Sith aura was weakened enough for her to begin pulling it from Lux's body. The black and red smoke began to slip out into the open air, and the Sith warriors flickered from their shapes as humanoids back to the molten dust from whence they came.

Soon, Lux's body was entirely free of Maul. Ahsoka wrapped the blackened presence in a cage of lightening, redirecting every scrap of energy she had towards it. Following her careful instruction, the cage began to close in on itself, shrinking in size until Maul's aura had been condensed into its smallest possible size.

One last push, and it was done. Maul, Dark Lord of the Sith, had been entirely reabsorbed into the Cosmic Force, along with his entire army of smoke.

She sank to her knees, weak after all of the energy she had used up to destroy Darth Maul. Then, she felt another presence. This one was kind and gentle, and didn't wish her any harm at all.

With her mental blocks down, she finally realized where the images that she would receive at random were coming from. It was her baby, speaking to her. Her child had been reconstructing what things looked like based on her own memories, and sending them back to her.

Ahsoka sighed, content. The image that her child was showing her now was of Lux, his chiseled face bathed in the light of the sunset on Onderon, a gentle smile on his face.

Look, the memory said, and she looked back at the Lux of the present, who was waking up.

His eyes opened, and he whispered, "Ahsoka..." There were happy tears in his eyes, which had thankfully returned to their lovely grey-blue. Her fatigue forgotten, she scrambled over to him, jumping into his arms.

They kissed for a long time after that.

*Ahsoka has succeeded. Maul and his army of dark Sith warriors have been destroyed, and Lux is safe and sound. But how long will her victory last? When will the Imperial forces choose to strike next? And what else has Lux learned about his family? And how will Padme cope over the loss of Anakin, her true love? You'll find out in the next amazing chapter of The Unchronicled Adventures Of Ahsoka Tano!

If any of you are now all like, THAT WAS FREAKING AWESOME, then I agree with you. At the beginning I thought that it was a little rushed, but now, in the end, I am REALLY proud of how this chapter turned out. And that Luxsoka at the end... I liked it. And OMIGODS THAAAAAANK YOOOOUUU GUYS!!! THIS BOOK HAS OFFICIALLY REACHED 11K VIEWS!!! EEEEEEEEKKK!!! I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!

I'll post the next chapter soon. I'm getting RIGHT to work on it!

Become the apprentice of Darth Sidious to save your beloved from dying in childbirth and may the Force be with you,

Sharron