Ahsoka let Vader swing first. His saber came down above her, and she mustered all the power she had to block it and push him away.
It's just another sparring practice, Ahsoka said to herself as she blocked his jab at her side. His swings were uncharacteristically wide, probably due to the suit's depth distortion.
It's just another sparring practice. She swung high, but his saber deflected hers with ease. He swung at her legs, but she jumped out of the way.
It's just another sparring practice.
And so it continued, neither party willing to give in to fatigue.
Their sabers locked. Vader brought down all his strength on her, trying to get her to break. She fought back as hard as she could, but he was stronger than she was. She let the force flow through her, giving her the energy she needed to push him away and swing at his face, sawing off half his helmet. He fell to his knees, and Ahsoka stood above him, catching her breath.
Lux struggled again. She pushed the trooper back using the force and closed the door, trapping him on the other side. Now, all that stood between them was Vader.
She ran past Vader and knelt beside Lux. After removing his gag, she used her lightsaber to break his handcuffs.
"I'm beginning to think I should've let you spend more time on a plan," he said with a soft smile of relief.
She kissed him on the cheek. "You were right about the missing piece, though. I didn't think that—"
Lux's eyes widened. "Ahsoka, look out!"
She whipped around ready to defend herself, but it was too late. Vader's lightsaber pierced through her stomach, and she fell to her knees.
Time stopped.
"NO!" Lux yelled, catching Ahsoka as she fell backwards.
The searing pain was almost too much to bear. Almost.
"Anakin," she whispered, "you said that you'd never let anyone hurt me. Why are you doing this?'
He stood up. His face was visible through the mask now. He was the same he had always been, except thinner, paler, and angrier. His eyes were a sickly shade of yellow. The dark side had taken her master away, and she wanted him back.
"Is this what Padme would've wanted?"
He was taken aback. For a second, his eyes returned to their normal shade of blue. "Padme," be whispered.
Ahsoka rose to her feet—a painful endeavor—and seized her opportunity. Using the force to guide her, she stabbed him in the same place.
He staggered back and fell to his knees as Ahsoka collapsed.
Lux rushed to her side and clutched her hand. "Come on, Ahsoka. Stay with me."
She squeezed his hand, wincing as the pain intensified. "This... this sucks."
He nodded. "I know, love, but you have to hang on for a few more minutes. Just until the others find us."
"Lux, I can't—"
"Yes you can."
Her feet went numb, and she slowly lost feeling in her legs. Black spots danced across her field of vision. "I can't feel my feet."
She heard footsteps down the hall.
"See? Help is almost here."
He was right. She could sense another familiar presence, but she didn't have the strength to tell who it was.
Her breath was raspy as it became more and more difficult to breathe. She tried to speak, but nothing came out.
She pulled his hand to her chest as he leaned in closer.
Their lips met, and Ahsoka blacked out.
-:-:-:-:-:-
When Ahsoka woke up, she was laying in a hospital med, hooked up to more machines and tubes than she cared to count. Lux sat in a chair on the opposite side of the room, asleep.
She sat up and blinked a few times, letting her body adjust to the natural light seeping in through a window to her right. She reached under her blanket and rubbed the spot where she was stabbed. There were a couple of stitches, and her skin was still very tender. Surprisingly, she wasn't in too much pain, considering that she was impaled by a lightsaber.
"Lux, I'm awake."
He jumped. His eyes darted around the room for a second; he must've fallen asleep by accident. "Ahsoka!" He stood up and practically ran to her side. "Are you okay? How are you feeling? Are you in any pain? Is there anything—"
She reached out and took his hand, and he stopped talking. "I'm fine, I think."
He breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, you're not fine just yet, but I'm glad you're feeling better." He kissed the back of her hand.
"How long was I out?"
"A few days. You were awake a few times for a minute or two, but not awake enough to say or do anything."
"What was the problem, then?"
The door slid open, and a doctor walked inside. Lux stood up and let go of her hand, taking a step back.
"Welcome back to the land of the living, Miss Tano," the woman said. "I'm Dr. Alema Eyan. I've been overseeing your treatments."
Where was she? She glanced at Lux and then at the window. He pulled back the curtains to reveal a small town, plenty of grass, and waterfalls in the distance.
Naboo. What were they doing there?
"Thank you, Dr. Eyan. May I ask what happened?"
"You were stabbed," she said, straight-faced. She began removing some of the tubes connected to Ahsoka.
Lux crossed his arms and sat by her feet. "Yeah, I think she got that part."
"The lightsaber that stabbed you was at an odd angle. It punctured your kidney and cut some of the neurons connecting your spine to your pelvis. We had to grow you a new kidney."
"Oh," she said, feeling her stitches again. "That sounds like it must've been a pain. Sorry."
"That was the easy part. It only takes a few hours to grow most essential organs. Your spine was the hard part."
"Is the hard part," Lux corrected. "You haven't exactly solved that problem yet."
Dr. Eyan sighed. "You're paralyzed from the waist down, Ahsoka. There's nothing we can do to fix it."
Ahsoka's first reaction was to panic, but she took a deep breath and instinctively tried to move her legs. She swung them over the side of her bed and rolled her ankles. "Paralyzed? Pardon my disbelief, but that can't be true."
Dr. Eyan turned to Lux, who bit his lip. "It's the machine."
Ahsoka looked more closely at the machines that were connected to her. "What do you mean?"
Dr. Eyan pointed to a large monitor with a string of numbers. "This machine powers a complex system of wires we implanted inside you to connect the damaged area. Without it, the connection between brain and body is broken, and you can't move your legs."
Ahsoka nodded, pretending she could understand the science of it. "So then why isn't that a longer term solution?
"This is the only machine we have that does this, and it isn't exactly portable. It can't leave this room; therefore, neither can you."
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
"You're going to get through this, Ahsoka," Lux said. "It's going to be okay." He nodded at Dr. Eyan, and she left the room.
As soon as she was gone, he scooted closer to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"We can talk about that later." She was eager to change the subject. "Why are we on Naboo?"
"Because you needed to see a doctor." He stared out the window. "It's a nice place, Naboo. I haven't been here since I was little.
She crossed her arms. "Lux, you can't talk yourself out of this one. That's not a good enough answer for me."
He was silent for a long time before he answered in a small voice. "The Rebel fleet was all but destroyed. Senator Organa was killed. We needed a place to lay low and see a real doctor. The queen of Naboo owes Commander Leia Naberrie a favor, so here we are."
She frowned. "Any good news?"
"Yeah, actually. There's someone else here to see you."
The door opened, and Ahsoka gasped.
"Padme?"
A/N: Happy Sunday! This chapter had a lot of ups and downs, but hopefully it ended on a positive note, right? ;)
I'm also going to point out that Vader's fate hasn't exactly been resolved yet... Stay tuned for more on that!
It's about to get a little crazy, but I promise it'll be good.
Until next time!