Sometimes, Ahsoka still questions if she was ready to get back into the fight again, but here she is. It hasn't been long since Raada, and the weight of everything that happened when the Jedi fell still feels like it's crushing her constantly. But somehow, she's grown slightly more used to the feel of it, after two years.
Maybe the only thing that makes it a shred easier is that she was already growing used to being away from everything when it fell apart. But it also leaves her wondering constantly, ceaselessly, what would have happened if she'd stayed. Maybe she couldn't have done anything to prevent what happened, but at least she would know what happened to Anakin.
Because she has absolutely no idea what happened to him. Even thinking about him hurts, especially when she remembers that last moment when she sensed him through the Force. It was like he was confronting the Sith Master, and then... nothing.
Likely, though, she'll never have an answer about what happened then. Way inside, she wishes she could believe that he's still alive, but she knows better than to hope. Believing it only to discover later that it was all a lie, would be more than she could handle.
But if nothing else, at least she can keep fighting for what he taught her to believe in. For what he would be proud of her for, if he were still here.
The sound of a beeping comm pulls her out of her attempted meditation – doing it these days at all is very difficult. But it's been engrained into her, and especially now, when she sensed the strangest disturbance in the Force only days ago. It reminded her of something long ago from during the Clone Wars, but she frankly has no idea how that could be possible. Unless she hears reports of something amiss of that nature, she'll feel free to temporarily dismiss it from mind, because frankly, she has other things to focus on.
Like helping with setting up the Rebellion network Rex was working so hard on while she was away.
Hurrying to check her comm, Ahsoka blinks in surprise when she realizes it's the private comm from Senator Organa. That's odd. Why would he be calling her now? He's never contacted her first – it's only been the other way around.
Naturally, he wouldn't want to put her in danger for no reason, or himself for that matter. So why...?
Her worry is only amplified when a figure of him appears, expression unusually grim. "Are you available for an urgent mission?"
"What is it?" Ahsoka asks, immediately.
"My daughter has disappeared. It appears to be a Force user behind it."
Ahsoka's eyes widen. This is bad. She remembers that Inquisitor she ran into on Raada far too well. She remembers the fear of coming back to see the entire village in flames. It reminded her far too much of things she'd seen in the Clone Wars, except on Raada, she was all alone against the threat. Even if defeating the Inquisitor had been surprisingly easy, it's not a moment she'll forget. There's people out there hunting Jedi and Force sensitives, and if they don't get Bail's daughter back soon, who knows what could happen to her? "Do you have any leads?"
"We have a tracker on the ship that took her. That is the most we can offer. We don't want word of this getting out."
"I'll do what I can," she promises, hanging up and immediately contacting Rex, just in case. He picks up the call surprisingly quickly. "I may need backup on a mission, if you're available."
"I'm a little caught up at the moment," Rex replies, throwing a swift glance around, "But I'll see what I can do."
He's busy with his movement for freeing as many clones as possible, she knows, so she'd hate to distract him, but honestly? Taking out another Inquisitor would deal a far more serious blow. Hopefully. Provided the Empire don't see the Inquisitors just as expendable, getting them constantly from... whatever Jedi they can pick up and turn.
That thought instantly spurs Ahsoka into motion again. She will not let Bail's daughter share that fate.
***
Ahsoka crouches behind the nearby tree, scanning the surroundings with her eyes... and montrals. Something's moving right up ahead. "There's someone right up ahead," Rex says, in a low voice.
"We'll call in the others," Anakin replies, pushing a button on his comm, to contact the others. They've hunted the Mother for months now, and they've finally destroyed or removed all transports from anywhere near her on this planet, so they can only hope she won't have a way to escape this time. She's destroyed enough planets, leaving nothing but chaos and death behind. They have to stop her now. "Master, we have something," Anakin reports.
There's a loud crash on the other end. "We're fighting her right now!" Obi-Wan calls back.
"Another one of those avatars?" Ahsoka hisses in a whisper. How are they ever supposed to find the real one?!
"We'll handle this one and then come," Anakin replies, ending the call.
"It... does not look like one of the avatars," Rex replies, holding out the macrobinoculars to Anakin.
"What does it look like?" Ahsoka demands.
"It looks like... Master Koth, but it is not him," Anakin replies, grimly.
Ahsoka stiffens. "She's doing that again?" She keeps mind-controlling or whatever, and – It's as infuriating as it is terrifying, that she's able to do this. They should be able to stop her! How could something this powerful even exist?!
Anakin passes her the macrobinonculars wordlessly and she takes them, hands clenching tightly around it as she realizes what she's seeing.
He doesn't look mind-controlled the same way the others moved when they were. He doesn't even look alive, but somehow, he's moving right toward them. He looks... almost like a zombie. There's an obvious stab wound across his chest so there is no way he could possibly be walking right now. But he is, and –
"Is he... dead?" Ahsoka asks, cautiously. What is going on here?
"Cover me," Anakin requests, closing his eyes and reaching out with the Force. She can only guess what he's doing, especially when the zombie-Koth suddenly twitches sharply.
Anakin's expression tenses in concentration, and Ahsoka senses a sudden flare of rage, though from where, she can't pinpoint. But Koth suddenly springs into motion, Force-leaping several times through the trees, straight towards them.
Ahsoka instantly whips out her blades, swinging them up to block him. Zombie-Koth blocks her lightsabers with his own, fighting almost wildly as he slashes at her.
"It is not him. But... Abeloth is close," Anakin replies, joining the fight as Rex whips out his blasters, opening fire.
"The real one?" Ahsoka pants, ducking another slash that nearly takes off her head, swinging low, and Koth spins to block her blade, then whips around to stop Anakin from taking his head off.
Anakin nods, not sparing the breath to respond, focusing everything on the fight.
Danger around them is increasing with each passing second, and Ahsoka struggles to ignore her fear as she fights off the crazed Jedi Master. She knows how easily one of them could be lost here. They've lost so many Jedi and clones to Abeloth over all this time – it's impossible to tell where she's going to show up next, but she destroys indiscriminately on both sides. She doesn't care for droids, though, which means the Separatists usually get off far better. Maybe that's why they're still too stubborn to consider another peace agreement.
One had been started, but... for some inexplicable reason, it had promptly collapsed only weeks later.
Rex fires several times at Koth, and he lashes out, throwing all them back with the Force.
Or maybe it's partly from the way the ground beneath her is suddenly shifting that throws her off-balance so much.
Anakin somehow manages to keep his balance, blade clashing with Koth's again, right as Rex fires. The blast catches his body in the side, but he hardly even reacts.
Heart pounding, Ahsoka frantically drags herself on her feet, right as the twisted form of Abeloth materializes practically right underneath her. She jumps clear with a yelp, whipping around, lightsabers poised.
Abeloth flicks a tentacle, and Ahsoka goes flying. She slams hard into tree, falling to the ground gasping, only to find a crazed-Koth leaping straight for her head. Another shot catches him as he spins to where Rex is just starting to stand. Ahsoka doesn't wait, throwing one of her sabers at him, and it cuts through his neck, body crumpling to the ground.
Yes, he was already dead, but to see that she just killed a Jedi Master, even if he was already dead...
She spins around, breathing hard, to see Anakin struggling to hold off Abeloth. They're in the middle of a Force battle, and... she's more than a little terrified that her master is losing, and she has no idea what to do about it.
There's a sudden crashing through the trees, and Yoda leaps through the trees, landing right on Abeloth's head. She hurls the Grandmaster off, right as Windu and Obi-Wan sprint into view. "We've located and destroyed over half a dozen avatars," Obi-Wan reports, "Unless this is another."
That's a lot, and Ahsoka has no idea how many Abeloth is capable of producing. And how many Jedi are dead because of that? There were more Jedi Masters here, but none of them seem to be coming. She knows what that means. They're all gone, aren't they?
Something twists wrongly in the Force, flaring in warning. Ahsoka is about to spin around again, but it feels more like the danger is underneath her?! And something snakes round her ankle. She looks down sharply, to see the vines beneath her moving of their own accord, wrapping around her.
What?! How is this possible?!
Ahsoka slashes through them with her lightsaber, but they keep on growing, and it's happening all across the forest now, as though they have a mind of their own somehow. That shouldn't even be possible. Of course, theoretically, you could direct much of a plant's growth while being in a deep Force trance, but Ahsoka has no idea how Abeloth is capable of doing that to so many at once, especially when she's still fighting off Windu and Yoda.
One of the vines catches her arm, ripping her lightsaber from her hand, the plants gripping her in a vice.
No, this is insane! She' s not going to lose to a bunch of plants – Looking up, she can see them sprouting around the other Jedi. And now it's enough to partly contain Yoda, too.
Abeloth is already weakened, from the number of her avators that they've killed, but she's still ridiculously powerful. Or it's just that she's skilled, using the Force in ways that can't possibly be natural.
Ahsoka can feel Anakin reaching out with the Force, holding back the Mother so she can't attack them. Ahsoka throws all her effort into ripping herself free faster than the vines can grow again, and she can see the others doing likewise.
Abeloth lunges forwards, and Yoda, Windu, and Obi-Wan throw up their hands, trying to hold her back with the Force, but it's not quite enough. She's unquestionably stronger. She'll break through and kill them, and –
Anakin jumps for her, and she spins around, snarling. Ahsoka heart lurches to her throat as more of the... trees reach for Anakin. The Togruta lunges forwards, slashing through them as fast as she can, keeping them away from Anakin. He lands behind Abeloth, lightsaber stabbing deeply into her side. Obi-Wan hits swings for her next, cutting through one of her... tentacles.
Abeloth snarls, and Ahsoka suddenly feels the Force shifting, twisting around her, and suddenly it's like she can't... reach it properly anymore?!
What – what's happening?! What is it doing to her?! The presence is pressed tightly against her mental shields, as though it's trying to... drain away her life?
All she knows is she's on the ground gasping, head pounding wildly, before it lets up just slightly. She can hear the sound of fighting and yelling, and all she knows is that if this doesn't end soon, it'll be too late. It will be –
Then nothing.
"Ahsoka?"
"Master?" she rasps, blinking. The world is spinning, but she manages to make out Anakin crouched next to her. "What... happened?"
"She's dead," Anakin replies, breathlessly, clearly still worn – and shaken – from the fight.
Wait –
"Really dead?" Ahsoka clarifies.
"We no longer sense her," Obi-Wan states, a short distance behind him.
She can see the tentacled body lying in the trees a distance away, or at least what's left of it. It's been stabbed multiple times with a lightsaber, and it looks like Abeloth lost many of her tentacles during the fight. It... looks like it's majorly Obi-Wan's handiwork though she doesn't even care how awful it looks right now because at least Abeloth is gone.
She doesn't know the exact details of what happened to her, but apparently, whenever one of Abeloth's avatars is destroyed, it slowly weakens her power. And they've destroyed close to a dozen recently. She was at her weakest moment when all the Jedi had jumped her. They didn't know how to kill her, but they'd... stabbed everywhere they conceivably could from the looks of it, faster than she could regenerate it. And finally, somehow, it had been fast enough that she couldn't come back from it.
Ahsoka doesn't think she's ever felt this relieved in her life, and she would've thrown herself into Anakin's arms right then and there if Windu and Yoda weren't standing so close. She didn't know how they would ever defeat this Force creature, but at least it's gone.
Forever.
***
So why, now that she's thinking about it, does Ahsoka think she senses Abeloth again? Actually, that was true from the moment there was first a disturbance in the Force but... if that's really a problem and a concern to the Rebellion, she should get a report on it eventually.
Right now, her focus is on finding Leia.
Ahsoka's barely made it to the surface of the planet when she senses... something else. It's a Force presence like a black hole, but still bright – even if not as much as it once was. It – it feels like a Sith. Maybe he's the one who took Leia?
Keeping her own presence concealed, she goes in search of him. She doesn't have to look far; there's an Imperial ship not far from where she landed. Except... the Sith obviously already figured out she was here, because she feels him nudging at her mental shields, and she would have shoved him away, if something about it didn't feel so suspiciously familiar.
Ahsoka's heart nearly skips a beat – she's definitely losing her mind, unquestionably – because she can't possibly be sensing what she thinks she is. Still, she responds almost automatically, reaching back. She has to know. She has to – At the very least, she should know more about this person, whoever it is. Or –
...
...
It can't be. It's not possible.
That Sith – how can the Sith she senses feel like Anakin? These past two years, she hadn't dared let herself think he might still be alive, but apparently, he is, and he's right on planet only... paces ahead of her. And he's a Sith. She stays where she is, crouched in the bushes near the shuttle, totally frozen. How – It's not possible. It's –
Why would Anakin ever Fall?!
"He has long been groomed for his role as my master's new apprentice."
Force, no. It's not – Maul can't be right. She wondered, briefly, after everything collapsed, but if anything, she'd been certain that Anakin was killed when confronting the Sith Master, not –
"Ahsoka." The voice is strangely robotic, distorted by a vocoder, and her eyes dart to the figure stepping out from the other side of the shuttle.
He's a towering, black-armored being, and he feels... Why does she feel so much pain?
She stands slowly, shakily, suddenly unsteady on her feet.
She can feel his own shock, as he stares at her.
"You are... alive." How he already found his voice, she doesn't know. Unless it's because he knew she was alive, while she had no idea.
"Anakin?" she breaths, hands clenching. How...?
The Sith twitches. "That... is no longer who I am."
She blinks. Thinking feels neigh impossible. Forget that. Even breathing feels impossible. Because what – "What?" she utters finally. Anakin, he's – he's a Sith. What – "You... how?"
"If you swear your loyalty to the Emperor, he will show you mercy," the Sith says. There's a strangely desperately, or perhaps hopeful, note in his voice; she can't really tell. Doesn't have the brain power to try deciphering it right now, either.
What –
How can this be Anakin? How could he ever join the Sith? How could he ever make her an offer like that, as if she could ever want to stand with the Empire that destroyed the Jedi?! What happened to him? "You're a Sith," she repeats again, still in almost a daze, but her voice comes out steadier now, "How? Why?!"
"The Light is weak. I have seen the power of the Dark Side," he answers, his respirator cycling.
It almost feels like she's talking to a different person, and maybe that's not entirely untrue. She already knows what the Jedi say of Sith, how they lose themselves, and – "What?"
The Sith doesn't respond; he stands there, watching her.
"How can you say that? How could you Fall?" she demands, voice rising a little. She's never felt so hysterical before, because this doesn't make any sense. Her master was always so light. This can't be happening. It's impossible.
He doesn't have the chance to respond, before she suddenly senses something coming.
No, someone –
Anakin is turning before she is, the strange coldness around him suddenly increasing sharply. And then, a far too familiar figure appears at the top of the hill across from them.
She freezes, just gaping. The other two seem in equal shock.
"... Obi-Wan?"
She was certain he likely died, along with so many others, but she had no way to know, and – In the midst of everything, it was easier not to think about it. The only one she couldn't help but think about constantly was Anakin.
Obi-Wan doesn't seem to be paying her any mind, though. His entire focus is on the armored figure, and he's staring at him like he's certain he's seeing a ghost.
Obi-Wan's presence feels strange, too, she notes distantly. It's cold and icy and wild, in a way that she's never felt before, but his presence is also more... elusive, closed-off from the Force, almost.
But what really confuses Ahsoka is the strange amount of fear – not to mention rage and pain – surrounding the Sith, as he looks up at Obi-Wan. And then, in a sudden move, he's igniting his lightsaber, the red of it bathing his armor.
She already knew that he was a Sith, but that makes it no less jarring to see the red blade in his hand. How – how could he do this? It hardly feels like she could be looking at Anakin.
"You should have killed me when you had the chance," he snarls, and she can hardly tell if it's more a threat or a...
Wait, when he had the chance? What is he implying?
"How –" Obi-Wan trails off, drawing his own lightsaber, though he still looks like he's staring at a ghost.
"What are you talking about?" Ahsoka demands loudly, because it looks like everything's about to blow up, and she has no idea why. Or why the Sith is so furious with Obi-Wan. She knows how much he meant to Anakin. Unless he's seriously implying Obi-Wan nearly killed him. As a Jedi, that... would've technically been his duty, but this is Anakin, and it – it doesn't make any sense.
No one's paying any attention to her, though, because Anakin moves towards Obi-Wan, circling a distance away from him to stalk up the side of the slope, towards him. Why he didn't just jump – and still land a safe distance away – she's not sure.
"You're – alive?" Obi-Wan starts to say, though he looks no less mind-blown at the realization that he's alive, than Ahsoka is.
The Sith lashes out violently, throwing him back with the Force, before he lunges forwards.
"Anakin!" Ahsoka yells, reaching for her own blades, but he's not paying her any mind.
Obi-Wan scrambles to his feet, blocking the blow that nearly would've bisected him otherwise, and they trade a few furious blows. Obi-Wan's fighting like he hasn't practiced in a while, though. He's barely keeping up with the Sith's strikes.
Anakin finally throws him back again, stalking closer.
"Stop!" Ahsoka calls again, Force-leaping up the side of the hill, landing between them, even if the Dark Side coiling around her once master is nearly enough to make her step away. What happened to him?
"I am not here to fight you, Ahsoka," he replies, something slightly less... rough in his tone.
"Then why Obi-Wan?" she asks, desperately. It makes no sense.
"He left me." The sheer pain and... rage that follow those words, she can't make sense of.
"What?" Ahsoka asks, confused.
"You chose to become this," Obi-Wan replies, eyes narrowing.
"I am what you made me," the Sith retaliates, abruptly circling around her, and going at Obi-Wan again, with renewed fury. She's tempted to jump in, to make them stop, but she doesn't know –
And something's very, very wrong. She can feel it in the Force, the disturbance growing greater and greater with each passing moment. Something's coming. Something's –
The Force surges around them, and she can feel death even from here. Abeloth must be on planet, somewhere, killing people. Otherwise –
But then, the ground jolts violently, and the next thing she knows, the rocks are starting to twist and transform, and it's so hot suddenly. She frantically scrambles out of the way as the rocks beneath her start melting, rapidly transforming into a river of lava.
The orange molten rocks are flowing down the side of the mountain between her and the fighting duo, and it's rapidly approaching them now. Ahsoka leaps to safety as fast as she can, still with half a mind enough to know she needs to keep the toxins away from her.
But Anakin and Obi-Wan are – Those idiots. What is wrong with them? Why are they still fighting?
Except Anakin's emotions seem to be rapidly going haywire, and she senses a strange amount of blinding panic from him. She doesn't really see what happens next – It all seems to be happening at once. The ground is suddenly slipping, breaking, as the river of lava flows off the edge of the embankment, and Anakin leaps clear barely in time – landing very awkwardly because of his armor – but Obi-Wan doesn't.
He lands far too close to the river, and he can't get a proper grip enough to get away from it, since the rocks are still sliding, and even the ones under him she thinks are starting to become molten and hotter and hotter, and –
And Ahsoka is too far away to do anything to stop it.
Especially because he's practically surrounded by the river on all sides now. Abeloth is clearly trying to kill all of them right here and now.
It couldn't have been more than a couple seconds, but it feels like it's happening in slow motion, and there's nothing she can do to stop it, as his robes start catching fire.
A fracture suddenly rips the ground clean in two beneath them, and then Ahsoka's falling, but she catches onto the side of the rocks, frantically dragging herself over the edge to a more stable position. Her montrals and lekku are stringing from the heat and gas, and she can't breathe. The air is too thick with it, and drawing in any air at all feels scarcely impossible, especially when her heart is pounding so hard, and she's trying not get herself killed.
She needs to get out of here, but where are Anakin and Obi-Wan –
It takes a few moments for her vision to clear enough to catch sight of them. Anakin's standing at the edge of the embankment, and he's just pulling Obi-Wan over the edge.
He must've put out the fire with the Force or something, but Obi-Wan's robes are still burned badly. It's not as bad as it could've been, but there's no way he doesn't have at least some third-degree burns from that.
Ahsoka can sense Abeloth's presence receding now, leaving them in the totally ruined valley that still has lava flows which will take a while to settle out, especially if they start catching the grass on fire. They need to get out of here.
"Anakin! Obi-Wan!" Ahsoka calls, sprinting over to their sides.
Anakin seems strangely frozen, and she can't make sense of the strange emotions swirling around him. But Obi-Wan's condition... She's seen plenty of serious injuries, but that doesn't stop how sick it makes her feel.
"He needs help," she breaths, dropping next to him.
"Yes," Anakin states finally, scanning the horizon.
"I saw cities when I was landing. There has to be people who can help," she says, urgently. Although first, they'll have to find a way to get back to their ship.
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