Heyo, human beings from outer space!
I know I haven't published anything new in forever and a half, but the past two weeks of my personal life have been absolute chaos. It's a really busy time for me right now, but I managed to scrounge up this story I wrote a bit ago.
Sorry for the lack of updates, and hopefully, I'll be able to publish more when my schedule calms down a bit. And, well, today, I've hired a ninja to chop onions in front of your faces.
Read on if you dare.
And if you're not allergic to onions.
"Ahsoka, Rex, where are you? Get out and blow the bombs, we're being overrun!" Anakin shouted "into him comm.
"Rex is on his way to your position. The bombs are set, get to a safe position so I can blow this place," Ahsoka's voice crackled through.
"What? Where are you? I see Rex, but not you, get out of there," Anakin barked. "Hurry!"
"Master, I'm sorry," Ahsoka said, her voice soft, "I'm not going to be able to make it out."
"Ahsoka, listen to me, you can make it out," Anakin bit his lip.
"There's not enough time," Ashoka said. "Get to a safe location and fast. This whole place is gonna blow."
"Sir!" Rex ran up to his side. "We must get to a safe position. She's ready to blow."
"Rex, why didn't you make Ahsoka come with you?! Why isn't she with you?!" Anakin demanded.
"Sir, what are you talking about? She's right–" Rex twisted around, cutting himself off when he noticed that Ahsoka wasn't there. "W-what? I-I don't understand. She was right behind me!"
"Ahsoka, get your butt out of there now! That's an order!"
"Anakin." The way she said his name made him freeze. "I'm sorry."
The ground rumbled beneath them and the whole Separatist base erupted. Smoke wafted from the firey booms, pounding at the eardrums of the clones. The troopers raced back to cover and Rex had to drag Anakin along.
But Anakin hardly noticed any of it. The only thing he could feel with the sensation of having part of his heart ripped out and the gaping hole in the Force.
She was really gone.
🔺🔺🔺
Anakin stood in the doorway of Ahsoka Tano, his former padawan's, room. He was supposed to be cleaning it out with the help of Obi-Wan and Plo, but he couldn't bear to take one step inside. He could already feel the tears pricking at his eyes and the tightness in his chest.
It had been nearly a month since she'd sacrificed herself for the mission, that stupid, kriffing mission. Anakin had spent the time with Padme at her apartment. She'd taken some time off of work to be there with him.
When Padme did have to go to work, however, Anakin left, too. He hunted down the Separatist general directing the Separatist's side of the battle, who had somehow escaped the explosion. And Anakin slit the man's throat.
"Anakin, come on, this has to be done," Obi-Wan nudged behind him gently.
"I know," Anakin croaked. "I don't want to."
"I know that you don't," Obi-Wan set a hand on his shoulder. "You don't even have to touch anything. You just need to be here to tell us what you want to be done with her stuff."
"Okay," Anakin let out a shaky breath and stepped inside, his vision blurring with tears. He staggered over to a corner and sat down, burying his face in his face.
The room smelled like Ahsoka, but he couldn't feel her. There was still a gaping void in his chest from the absence of her presence and the painfully one-sided force bond from which her end had been stripped away. It hurt like no other.
Obi-Wan and Plo had begun folding the blankets from her bed. Those all belonged to the Jedi and would be washed and reused in another bed. All except for one ragged, ripped-up blanket that Ahsoka kept hidden under the mattress of her bed.
Anakin climbed to his feet and stumbled over, lifting the mattress and removing the neatly-folded blanket. Neither Obi-Wan nor Plo said anything. They couldn't.
As Anakin turned back to slump back in the corner, he felt a pull at him to stop. And for a moment, Anakin could've sworn he felt Ahsoka. But just as fast as the feeling came it left. Anakin let out a shuddery breath and his eyes fell to her desk. The books, datapad, and homework were stacked neatly on either end of the desk, and in the middle, there was a holo disk and a neatly hand-written note.
With trembling fingers, Anakin lifted the note. It read:
Anakin,
If you're reading this right now, I'm sorry. I know I wasn't the easiest apprentice to have and I know I was really rough around the edges and I know I hurt you. You and Obi-Wan and Master Plo and Padme are all the boys, too.
I'm sorry for that, but I had to do it. I did the right thing. You should be grateful for what I did anyway. I mean, just admit it, the plan was crappy anyway and I saved your hides. I always do, don't I?
Anakin, I know you've already given so much for me, but can you do one more favour for me? Can you take this recording I've made and show it to Obi-Wan and the boys and maybe Master Plo and Padme if you can find them? Don't you dare watch it alone. Can you do that for me?
Thank you so much. For everything.
Your favourite ever padawan
–Snips, AKA Ahsoka Tano
Ahsoka had signed her name at the bottom, the letters curving beautifully. A drop of water splattered on the paper, smearing some of the ink, and Anakin cursed himself. He rapidly wiped his eyes, just then realizing that he'd been crying.
But he hardly had time to be angry at himself for ruining the note. He had something more important to do; a wish to grant. A dying wish.
"Master Plo, Obi-Wan, we have to gather the men," Anakin blurted, whirling around to face the elder Jedi.
"Anakin, we have to finish this," Obi-Wan reminded him gently. "And what could we possibly need all the men for?"
Anakin slammed the note down on the dresser before them that they had just finished clearing. Obi-Wan and Plo skimmed over the note, then exchanged looks.
"We better gather the men."
🔺🔺🔺
The 501st, 212th, and 104th crammed in the hanger. They didn't know what they had been called there for, but it sounded urgent.
Anakin stood before everyone after they had all gathered. "Gentlemen, I've brought you all here today because Ahsoka–" his voice cracked violently and he had to take a deep breath to continue. "--I found a note that Ahsoka... Ahsoka wrote for me. She's-she's made a recording and asked me to show it to everyone."
Obi-Wan patted Anakin's back gently. Anakin gave the holo-disk to Artoo, who was able to enlarge and amply it. Anakin stepped away and stood shakily next to Obi-Wan.
Artoo whistled, the larger-than-life blue form of Ahsoka flickering into the hanger. Anakin choked on a violent swirl of both happiness and resentment in his stomach.
Ahsoka smiled her gentlest, kindest smile. She looked a few months younger than she had when Anakin last saw her, meaning either Anakin was losing his mind (he probably did regardless) or she'd recorded it a while ago.
"Dear Anakin, Obi-Wan, and 501st," she started, the mere sound of her voice making everyone choke a little, "If you're watching this right now, that means we won. Congratulations, you're one battle closer to winning the war. Never doubt yourselves and trust in the Force. It will be with you.
"Unfortunately, if you're watching this, it also means I'm gone. Like gone-gone. But don't let that discourage you, because I saved your sorry hides," she laughed lightly. "You have to admit that your plan was pretty crappy. I improved it. Be thankful."
She paused and Anakin blew out a long breath. Obi-Wan squeezed his shoulder.
"Well, come on," Ahsoka prompted. "Say your thanks. I'm waiting."
A few sad chuckles arose. "THANK YOU!" Shouted Fives at the top of his lungs. Echo punched him lightly.
"I'm glad someone has respect for me. Fives, you're my favorite," the recording said as if it could see what was happening. Ahsoka knew them too well. "So now that you've thanked me, it's time for me to thank you.
"Thank you, Rex, for being a great mentor and friend.
"Thank you, Fives, Jesse, and Hardcase, for being the comedians and the life of the party and for being able to lift the spirits when they were down.
"Thank you, Echo, for being the common sense and level head we needed.
"Thank you, Kix, for always being able to repair whatever part of me that I managed to injure.
"Thank you, Cody, for being another amazing mentor and also for teaching me how to drink."
Obi-Wan shot Cody a look, but Cody masterfully ignored the gaze.
"Thank you, 501st, for having my back and being my brothers.
"Thank you to all the other brothers as well, the 104th and 212th and Fox and many others.
"Thank you, Plo, for teaching me important aspects of the Force and for finding me on Shili in the first place. Thank you for being there when no one else was.
"Thank you, Obi-Wan, for being an amazing grandmaster. You helped me with things Anakin was too impatient for and taught me so much. You were there for me when I had questions or needed help with something, and you saved me more times than I can count.
"Thank you, Anakin, for... everything. From letting me help you prank Windu to helping me with Algebra, to teaching me some of the most important lessons I've ever learned. You also saved my hide too many times to remember and you've taught me almost everything I know. My entire life changed the day you became my master, and I know at first, you didn't want me, but things changed, right? I can be annoying, I know, but I'm not so bad, am I?
"Anakin," she paused, letting the sound of his name in her voice sink in, "Don't you dare lose any sleep or meals over me. If you do, I swear I will come down as a ghost and strangle you. No, I'm not making a threat, I'm making a promise," she laughed again. "That goes for all of you, actually."
Another short pause.
"So, I guess this is getting a little bit long, so I should wrap it up now. I know I'm a Jedi, but since no one can come to kill me now, I want to say that I love you all. From the bottom of my heart, I love each and every one of you: you're my family in everything but blood. No one can ever change that.
"Anakin, one more thing. I left Padme something. It's in my closet, in the little box in the corner. Can you give it to her for me? Thanks." She smiled softly one last time. "May the Force be with you. Always."
The blue figure flickered away, leaving the hanger in utter silence. Everyone had tears in their eyes.
That night, as Obi-Wan had a firm talk with Cody about children and alcohol, Anakin found the little box in the corner of Ahsoka's closet. He took it to Padme, who opened it with him. Enclosed were a few things: a note for Padme, a little trinket that had been very important to Ahsoka, and two little datapads.
Anakin took a datapad and powered it up. Instantly, pictures from the datapad filled the room. They were of him, Obi-Wan, the clones, and even a few of Padme. Anakin and Padme spent hours looking through the pictures, laughing tearfully at the good memories. They even found a video of Rex singing in the mess hall.
Finally, they'd seen all the pictures and videos. Padme took a moment to read the letter from Ahsoka, tears welling up in her eyes. She pursed her lips, folded the paper, and tucked it away. Anakin didn't pry... not yet.
Taking the second datapad, Anakin powered up. The room didn't fill with pictures this time. Instead, Anakin found document after document filled with stories of Ahsoka's adventures. She'd written them down after every battle or exciting event. There were tales of her time in the temple as a younging and recounts of missions while she was a padawan.
Anakin spent the night at Padme's staying up late to read Ahsoka's work. He took the datapad to the temple in the morning.
Even Master Yoda seemed pleased with the stories Ahsoka wrote. He thought they were accurate and an excellent example of life from a padawan's point of view. Yoda made copies of all of Ahsoka's stories and took them, but let Anakin keep the original copies.
From that day forward, the tales of Ahsoka Tano were told to all of the Jedi younglings. Ahsoka was regarded as a hero, a magnificent role model, to all the children.
Over time, Anakin was forced to recover from the loss. He started going on missions and fighting battles again, a role model as the Chosen One. But he never got a new padawan.
And though the ache never ceased to exist in his chest, he was proud of his padawan... his sister. No one could change that.
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Word Count: 2,365
Published: August 24, 2022
Are anyone's eyes burning from the onions? What about a tight chest? Does anyone have that sad tightness inside of them? I'm paying this ninja well.
Anyways, I failed to mention earlier that I got my first official request for this book! Yay! And don't worry, I haven't forgotten about that, I'm making slow progress on the request. I'm just very busy right now but felt the need to publish something, so I found an older story.
Requests are open, feel free to message me or make a comment if you have any ideas/suggestions.
Bye, peoples!