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Chapter Text

“Anakin, you can’t just rush into this like you’re–like you’re some nineteen-year-old who still doesn’t think about the consequences!” Obi-Wan rushed just a few steps behind Anakin as he stomped off in the direction of the Council’s chambers.

“Maul took Rex!” Anakin shouted. “I’m allowed to be pissed off, y’know.”

“Yes but you can’t run into things like this,” Obi-Wan pointed out. “We still don’t know what Maul wants.”

“That’s exactly why we have to act now,” Anakin huffed. 

“You don’t know him like I do,” Obi-Wan said. “He’s got a plan, and you rushing in like you always do is part of it.”

Anakin burst through the Council doors. “I’m sure you’ve heard what happened?”

“Come in, young Skywalker,” Yoda said. “Heard about the incident, we did.”

Obi-Wan sat down in his seat. 

“Have you decided what we’re going to do about it?” Anakin asked with a raised eyebrow.

The Council exchanged looks with each other that made Obi-Wan’s stomach churn. 

“We aren’t doing anything about it until we know Maul’s true motives,” Mace Windu said. “It’s too dangerous, and we can’t afford another siege.”

“The last one was successful,” Anakin pointed out. “Just send me and the 501st, and we’ll get the job done. Hell, send the 212th and Obi-Wan, too. You know we can do it.”

“The risk is not worth it, Skywalker,” Luminara Unduli said. “We have a war we still must win.”

Anakin threw his arms up in defeat. “So you’re giving up? That’s just–that’s just perfect.”

“Keep your emotions in check,” Mace Windu warned. 

“I'm leaving,” Anakin scoffed and left the room. 

Obi-Wan held his face in his hands. Oh, Anakin. 

“Captain…Rex,” Maul walked around the clone, who was sitting in the middle of the room, hands bound behind him. “You know why I took you and not…Knight Skywalker?”

Rex stayed silent. 

Maul frowned, but pulled out something from his pocket. It was small and rectangular. He could see the recognition in the clone’s eyes. “You know what this is.”

“Of course not,” Rex said. 

Maul laughed. “It was found in your armor. A terrible place to hide it, really. We found it quite easily.” He paused. “Now what if I told you that this came from a…hidden base belonging to Darth Sidious.”

Rex’s eyes widened for a moment until he regained his composure.

Maul took out another hard drive. “And this one, from an abandoned house on Raada, taken just weeks after an incident that ended in an Inquisitor’s death.”

“I didn’t have anything to do with that,” Rex rolled his eyes. “I hadn’t even heard about that till now.”

Maul made a tsk sound. “This hard drive, from the very planet we’re standing on.” He pulled out another, and then one last hard drive. “And finally, the one with your armor.”

“This means nothing to me,” Rex said. 

“Oh, I know,” Maul stopped circling and kneeled down in front of the clone. “I doubted Lady Tano would tell you anything about what was on them.”

“Ahsoka’s dead,” Rex said bitterly. 

“We both know that to be a lie,” Maul sighed.

“So why am I here?”

“Because once your precious commander learns of what happened, she will come rushing in, and I will finally get what I want.”

“No, she won’t fall for it,” Rex protested against his restraints. “She won’t come.”

Maul laughed as he left. “Oh, she will.”

“We need to form a–a team,” Ahsoka said. “To stop him.”

“Ahsoka, running into this is a terrible plan,” Echo warned her. 

“Then what should I do?” Ahsoka snapped. “Just let Maul torture Rex?”

“No,” Echo said. “You need help.”

Ahsoka laughed. “Who’s gonna want to help a dead former Jedi Padawan who’s been ignoring all her friends for two years?”

“Me,” Echo declared heroically. 

“And the rest of the Batch,” Hunter added. “Rex is our friend too.”

“And you’ll always have me.” Kaeden smiled. Her hand rested on Ahsoka’s shoulder.

Ahsoka smiled back and touched Kaeden’s hand with her own before focusing on the task at hand. “I have some contacts I can call. Maybe some of them can help us. You should do the same, if you have any. We can meet here, do some training and planning.”

“And once we break in, there’s a chance Mandalorians who disagree with Maul will join us,” Hunter reminded them. “Tech, work on calling some of our friends.”

“Already on it,” Tech walked away to the corner of the room, fiddling with his datapad.

“Thank you for the help,” Ahsoka said. “Really. It means a lot.”

“It’s no problem,” Echo said. “I’m just glad to help out my vod.”

“Men, gather round,” Anakin yelled as he entered the hangar, filled with 501st clones. The clones quickly made their way over to him. They were all quiet, somber. It was because Rex was gone. It was like this for a couple weeks after Ahsoka left, and after Order 66. 

“As most of you know, we were attacked and our captain, Rex, was taken,” Anakin explained. “Earlier today, I went to the Council requesting to go after him. They refused, so I have another idea in mind. Fuck Maul, and fuck the Council. We’re going after him. He’s one of us, and Maul needs to be taken down, for good. We’ve done it before and we’ll do it again. In twelve hours, I want us ready for takeoff.”

Cheers from the crowd arose as he finished, and Anakin smirked to himself. This would work. They were finally gonna free the galaxy from Maul’s awful plots. 

“Padawan Tano,” a voice said. It was deep and orderly. 

Ahsoka was in a large field, with flowers covering every inch. The soft sound of birds chirping filled the air, as did a slight breeze. The sun was out in all its glory, though it didn’t really bother her. 

Ahsoka turned around, and saw a man with a wrinkled face and white hair. He wore regal Jedi Robes, that made him look important. Still, her face narrowed and she reached for lightsabers that weren’t there.

“No need for violence, Padawan Tano,” Count Dooku chuckled softly. “I do not mean you any harm.”

Ahsoka only relaxed a little. “Then why are you here? Where even am I?”

“You are dreaming, Young One,” Dooku answered. “And I am here to support your endeavors.”

“Why?” Ahsoka was skeptical of Dooku’s intentions. He was a Sith, after all. Why would he care about her?

“Because you are part of my lineage, as much as I despised it while I breathed,” Dooku said. 

Ahsoka rolled her eyes. “That doesn’t answer my question.”

“Maul must be taken down, but more importantly, so must Sidious,” Dooku explained. “And I would like to help you.”

“But you’re dead,” Ahsoka said bluntly. She immediately felt bad. “Sorry, that was–”

“It was true,” Dooku interrupted. “Which is why you must travel to Ahch-To. There is a Jedi Temple there where I will train you.”

“You’re doing all this because I was trained by a guy who was trained by a guy who was trained by your Padawan?” Ahsoka raised an eye marking. 

“Back when I was a Jedi, lineages meant everything to us,” Dooku said wistfully. “I can only hope that by teaching you what I know, I can help bring the Jedi back to what it used to be.”

Because you helped fuck it up. Ahsoka wanted to say. Instead, she just nodded. “And I’d join the Jedi?”

“But before we get there, Maul and Darth Sidious must be taken down,” Dooku changed the subject. “I will teach you everything I know, and you will bring balance to the Force.”

“I’m not the Chosen One,” Ahsoka reminded him.

“Influence can be just as powerful,” Dooku began to fade out of the meadow, and Ahsoka felt herself slowly waking up.

“Hey, Ahsoka?” Echo knocked on the side door of Ahsoka’s ship. It’d been just a day since they decided to get their rebellion against Maul together. 

Inside, he heard some knocking around, but there was a faint “come in.”

He opened the door and saw it was just Ahsoka. She looked like she’d just woken up, with heavy bags under her eyes and messy clothes. 

Inside, the ship was a mess. There was clutter everywhere that he assumed Kaeden did not know about yet, otherwise it would definitely be gone. 

“Woah, what are you doing?” Echo moved some of the clutter to the side so he could move inside the building. 

“Just going through a couple stuff,” Ahsoka shrugged and turned to the closest box. “Why?”

“Reports are flooding the Holonet,” Echo started and sat down next to her. “Have you seen any of it yet?”

Ahsoka shook her head. “No, I’ve been in here.”

“The 501st supposedly disobeyed direct orders from the Council,” Echo said. “They were told not to go after Rex, but six hours ago, they were reported as leaving, and they took out all the trackers in the Resolute.”

Ahsoka froze for a moment and her lips tightened. “So we have the same goal as them?”

“The Batch thinks we should contact them,” Echo said. “We could support each other.”

“Do it,” Ahsoka spat out quickly. “Before I get any more doubts.”

Echo stood up. “Are you sure you’re okay with it?”

“Force knows I rescued Anakin with Obi-Wan’s help,” Ahsoka scoffed. “I can rescue Rex with Anakin’s help. And let everyone else know to call me Fulcrum from here on out. Oh, and the Force gave me a vision. I need to leave tonight. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, but when I return I’ll have the key to rescuing Rex.”

Echo frowned, but left his doubts unsaid. He quickly left to share the news with the rest of the Batch.

“Sir, supposedly Skywalker has disobeyed the Council,” a Mandalorian kneeled at Maul’s feet.

Maul’s eyes narrowed. “To rescue his beloved Captain Rex?”

“Yes,” the Mandalorian confirmed. “What should we do?”

“Do nothing,” Maul said after a moment. 

“But, sir –”

“Silence!”

Chapter Text

Ahsoka left that night. She’d already told Kaeden and everyone else what was happening. She’d also prepared some activities for the trip there; Ahch-To was far. It wasn’t documented on her navi-computer, but the Force told her where to go. Her games were just a couple single-player card games and movies. She wished she had someone to go with her, but it was too dangerous. 

When she arrived, the first thing she noticed was how much water was on the surface. The Force told her it was a watery planet, but it was a lot more like Kamino than she expected, the most notable difference being the lack of rain. 

The Jedi Temple was built into the rocky island, and it seemed to have inhabitants, as seen by their small huts scattered throughout the island. 

She landed her ship at the base of the island and exited. She was greeted by several small birds, and a far more familiar one caught her eye from up high. Morai. 

The inhabitants paid her no attention other than a couple side eyes, instead focusing on what she assumed was their normal daily schedule. 

Ahsoka looked around silently before deciding to go up to the highest point. Up there, she was greeted by a familiar face. 

“Ahsoka,” Anakin said. He had yellow eyes narrowed at her. “You abandoned me.”

She took a step back. Had Dooku tricked her? What happened to Anakin not turning to the Dark Side? “ No .”

“You failed me,” Anakin snarled. He grabbed his lightsaber off his belt and ignited it. It was a bright red. 

“I didn’t mean–” Ahsoka attempted to speak. 

“ Do you know what I’ve become? ” Anakin lunged at her. She barely had any time to whip out her own saber to block his. 

“I’m sorry ,” Ahsoka said. She pushed against his saber. He jumped back a couple steps before running at her again. He swung it at her side and she blocked quickly before needing to raise it to block another blow to her head. 

Anakin pressed against her white blade more intently than before. She could feel her grip slipping. She let herself let go of the saber and jumped to her left. 

“I always knew you were weak,” Anakin taunted. 

Ahsoka felt her chest heave. “What happened to you?”

There was no way this was real, right? Was this some trick in the Force? A test?

Ahsoka used the Force to grab her lightsaber back and took her shoto into her other hand. “Whatever this is, I assure you, I will succeed.”

She pushed herself off the ground towards Anakin, spinning her sabers and managed to graze his shoulder. Anakin cried out in pain. She stuffed down the wrench in her heart at the sound. 

She took the opening to sweep his feet out from under him and point her saber at his exposed neck. “Don’t make me do it.”

Anakin scoffed. “You never had the nerve. You’re weak .”

“You’re not real,” Ahsoka said. 

Anakin’s eyes narrowed and he lifted a hand to her lightsaber. It burned his skin as it slowly spread and morphed him into the Son. “You’re right, I am just an illusion. Your former Master is fine . You, however, are not.”

The Force suddenly felt cold and twisted. Ahsoka gently explored the Force, prodding it with her mind, but it was like a giant wall. It wasn’t letting her through. 

“What are you–”

The Son reached his hand out and pushed Ahsoka off the cliff using the Force. She screamed and tried to reach out to anything in the Force that would listen, but nothing was there. It was rejecting her. The ground was getting closer and closer, the threat of death coming more imminent with every moment. 

At the last second, Ahsoka called upon as much power as she could, which was really nothing considering she was being shunned by the Force, and she tried to slow the fall. 

Her head hit the ground and everything went dark. 

When Ahsoka woke up, she was in a cave. It was dark and everything was cold. The events at the cliff rushed into her mind, so she examined herself for injuries. Nothing. 

How was that possible?

“Ahsoka Tano,” someone said from behind her. 

She twisted up and around to see who it was. It was a force ghost with long hair and a beard. He wore Jedi robes, too, but no lightsaber. 

“Qui-Gon Jinn,” she recognized him from a picture in Obi-Wan’s apartment. 

“Ahsoka Tano,” Qui-Gon nodded as a greeting. “I have watched you with great interest. I remember when Plo Koon brought you to the Temple.”

Ahsoka frowned. “Did we ever meet?”

“No, I’m afraid not,” Qui-Gon admitted. “I died before I could, but I had heard amazing things about you from Plo Koon.”

“I came here because of a vision,” Ahsoka told him. “Count Dooku was in that vision.”

“Yes, that is true,” Qui-Gon said. “Follow me.”

Ahsoka pursed her lips together and searched the Force for any sense of warning or danger. Like before, it put up a wall and deflected her away. 

She sighed and followed Qui-Gon. Maybe he could figure out what was happening to her. 

He led her through the cave in silence. 

As they walked, the path grew wider, indicating an exit. At one point, there was a clearing with an old campfire and two makeshift beds, like the kind she’d made with 501st on particularly long expeditions. 

“Did someone stay the night here?” she asked. 

Qui-Gon stopped walking, turned to look at her, then continued walking forward. Ahsoka sighed, 

Not long after, they reached the mouth of the cave. 

The whole world was gray. The grass, the sky, the plants. But there were no animals except for a green and white convor. It was the only thing that truly had color, other than her and Qui-Gon. 

In the distance was a crumbled tower. It looked familiar, but she couldn’t place it.

“What is this place?”

“A forgotten land,” a new voice said. “My Master searched for it for years, but never found it.”

Count Dooku stepped out of the shadows. He wore a formal Serennian suit unlike the one he wore during the war. 

Ahsoka resisted the urge to lunge at him. He was a Separatist leader. He was a Sith Lord. But she didn’t. 

“Do you know why we called you here?” Dooku asked calmly. 

“No,” Ahsoka admitted. 

“The galaxy is reaching a tipping point, one I hoped I would never see,” Dooku explained. “Even so, I expected Order 66 to be that point, yet it wasn’t.”

Ahsoka remembered her message to the Jedi Order. She’d forgotten she warned Master Yoda and Mace Windu about the chips in the clones’ heads. 

“So we’re not there yet?” Ahsoka said. “That’s why you gave me that vision, so I could, what, tip the scales? I’m not a Jedi. I don’t have the sort of power that’s needed to fix things.”

“But you could,” Qui-Gon spoke up.

“I’m not the Chosen One,” Ahsoka scoffed. “Go talk to Anakin.”

“We chose you,” Dooku said. “As much as I detested the boy, he has his own duty.”

“And now the whole galaxy is resting on my shoulders because you decided I wanted the job?” Ahsoka’s voice raised. Hadn’t she done enough for them? She just wanted to rescue Rex and live her life with Kaeden. The Jedi could deal with the rest of it. 

“The Force told us you needed the job,” Dooku snapped at her. “You were not meant to sit on some farming moon as a mechanic kissing girls and hiding from your friends and family!”

Ahsoka clenched her fists. “Did the Force also tell you why ?”

“Maul has most of the plans for the Death Star, anyway,” Dooku said. “Because you decided to hide!”

“I didn’t hide, I was protecting myself and the galaxy!” 

“Then why does Maul have the plans? Why is he building the station as we speak?”

“Look, I did what I thought was best.”

“SILENCE!” 

Qui-Gon pushed Ahsoka and Dooku away from each other using the Force. “You’re acting like children. Dooku, you can’t blame Maul’s actions on Ahsoka. Ahsoka, you can’t run from your responsibility."

Ahsoka sighed. “So then what now?”

“We will train you,” Qui-Gon said. 

“The Force is blocking me,” Ahsoka said. “I can’t use it.”

“We will get to that later,” Dooku said. “You must learn to stop being so reliant on the Force.”

Ahsoka huffed angrily and crossed her arms. “Fine, I’ll do it.”

Chapter Text

Anakin was initially wary of the clones on Pabu. It was a perfect trap. But when they landed, the Bad Batch greeted him, and that was almost enough to gain his trust. 

Almost. 

He followed them to their planning center. And by planning center, they meant planning house. And by planning house, they meant a small room in a one bedroom house that could barely fit everyone.

The Bad Batch was inside, as was a girl with dark skin and braids. Part of Anakin wondered why she was there, but he didn’t ask. She stood next to a smuggler he learned was named Phee Genoa, and the mayor of Pabu, Shep Hazard. 

The little girl the Bad Batch adopted was with the clones on the Resolute, which Crosshair seemed tense about, but Echo promised it was fine. 

“We’re grateful for your help,” Hunter started. He pressed a button on the holotable they stood around. A map of Mandalore popped up. 

“Maul hasn’t been quiet about his location,” the girl with the braids said. “He’s in Sunduri, the same spot as the Siege of Mandalore.”

“It’s possible he’s trying to recreate the Siege,” Echo said. “We need to be very careful. He’s got his army back, and our reports say Maul’s angrier than ever. We can’t go at it the same way as last time. He knows how to counter that strategy.”

Anakin studied the map. 

“We could send Ah–Fulcrum in to negotiate,” the girl with the braids suggested. 

Anakin’s brows furrowed. “Who’s Fulcrum?”

“Kaeden’s…” Hunter looked between the girl with the braids who must be Kaeden and Anakin.

“…lover,” Crosshair finished. 

“Oh,” Anakin coughed out. Clearly some sort of tension between Kaeden and Fulcrum. Maybe they were in some sort of quarrel. 

He thought of Padme, who deserved so much better than him. He hadn’t seen her in forever. 

“Where is Fulcrum?” he asked to break the silence.

“She’s on a mission,” Echo said quickly. He was hiding something. The Force didn’t even need to show Anakin that. 

He decided to let the clone believe his lie worked. 

“We can trust Fulcrum?” he clarified. 

Most of the people in the room nodded their heads. 

“She knew Rex, if that makes you feel any better,” Kaeden told him. Anakin missed the jolted looks of confusion from the Bad Batch. 

Anakin raised an eyebrow. How?

“He was on a mission without you,” Kaeden explained. “He saved her life, she saved his.”

“Back to the mission,” Tech stated plainly and quickly. “While Fulcrum negotiates, we will place troops at these locations.”

He pointed at four entrances into the city, spread evenly. “The main one, here,” Tech pointed to the one closest to the palace, “will be manned by Anakin Skywalker in case there are issues with stalling Maul.”

He pointed to the rest one by one and explained who would be in each spot and which troops they would lead. Crosshair and Wrecker in one, Phee and Hunter in another. Echo in the fourth entrance with the 501st’s commander. 

It was a good plan. It played into the 501st’s strengths without showing off their weaknesses. They were outmanned, and they knew that. Maul knew that. But this plan, which the girl clone child named Four Corners, might actually work.

He wasn’t going to lose his brother, not again. 

Ahsoka wasn’t sure how long she’d been training with Qui-Gon and Dooku. It felt like weeks, but time was weird here. She didn’t age, or if she did, it was slower than usual. 

She woke up and slept with the sun. She’d done it before, painfully, because who didn’t like sleep, but here, it was natural. 

Her back hit the ground for the millionth time that day. 

“Fuck,” she groaned and massaged her temples. 

“Your reflexes are too slow,” Dooku criticized as he circled her. They were doing training without lightsabers. 

“I’d be faster if the Force would come back,” she complained. Was this how Rex and Kaeden felt every day?

“You’re still too reliant on what you’ve lost,” Dooku said. He reached a hand out to pull Ahsoka to her feet. She slapped it away and got up on her own. 

Dooku was right, and they both knew it. Worse, Dooku knew that she knew he was right. 

“Again,” he said. 

Ahsoka raised her fists and spread her feet shoulder width apart. She lunged forward, but Dooku stepped to the side and she fell into nothing. 

“Anticipate my moves,” Dooku advised. 

She raised her fists again and swung at the former Sith. He moved his head and her fist swung out wildly. 

Dooku grabbed her arm, twisted it, and hurled her over his shoulder. 

“Fucking hell,” Ahsoka swore. Her back montral ached, but she refused to let it show. 

“You’re not paying attention,” Dooku told her. “You need to look at your enemy and see what they mean to do. And you’re too obvious with your actions.”

Ahsoka scoffed to herself. He was right. Again. She got up off the ground and dusted herself off. 

“Be patient,” a new voice said. Qui-Gon was leaning against a tree. “Both of you. She will learn in time.”

“There is no time,” Dooku retorted. “Balance is already gone. She can’t learn soon, she must learn now !”

Qui-Gon looked at Ahsoka, then Dooku, then Ahsoka again. “Give it one more chance."

Ahsoka rolled her eyes internally and looked back at Dooku, who was looking at her in a similar manner. He didn't seem to like being overruled by his former Padawan. 

Like before, she spread her feet shoulder length apart and raised her fists. Dooku did the same. 

This time, she waited for him to move. The two of them circled each other, waiting for an opportunity. Neither wanted to be the one who attacked first. 

Qui-Gon made a noise from the sidelines, and Dooku’s head turned slightly. It was her change. Ahsoka ran at him and raised her leg to kick his face. It landed perfectly and she used the momentum to land a punch in the same spot. 

Dooku fell back a few steps and grunted. He made the next move by jolting to Ahsoka’s right, hoping to put her in some sort of a hold. 

Ahsoka pretended to be caught off guard, but at the last second, she jumped back and grabbed his extended arm. She twisted it like he did to her earlier and held it behind his back. 

The former Sith elbowed her stomach, but she didn’t let go of him for long. She managed to still catch him from behind, so she placed her hands firmly on his shoulders and jumped so she was sitting on his shoulders. She squeezed his neck with her legs. He struggled against her, reaching for her leg. She saw it and kicked his chest. 

Dooku stumbled to his knees and tapped the ground twice, indicating surrender. 

Ahsoka climbed off his back and took a few steps away to give him space. She’d done it. She won against Dooku. She was learning . 

Qui-Gon looked smugly at the two of them. 

Dooku glared at his former Padawan and Ahsoka. “A good improvement.”

Ahsoka smiled. “I know.”

The next few training sessions were slightly different. The first part was more hand-to-hand combat, but the second half was lightsaber training. 

She wasn’t awful, but she was out of practice. And Dooku loved exploiting that. She was sure he wanted her to fail, so it was her new mission to prove him wrong. She wondered if he treated Qui-Gon the same way when they were Master and Padawan. Not like she'd ever ask. 

The first time she beat Dooku in lightsaber combat, he stormed off. Unsurprisingly. 

Qui-Gon came to talk to her. She thought it’d be about the Force. 

It was. But not how to get it back. He began teaching her the secrets of the Force. 

Still useful, she figured. 

Ahsoka began beating Dooku more often than not. She knew when to strike, when to hesitate, when to lunge, when to fall back. She knew him and how he worked. 

So Qui-Gon volunteered to duel. 

It didn’t go so great. He apologized later and the two of them meditated. 

Dooku was angrier every day. Ahsoka wondered what was happening in the real world, but Qui-Gon refused to tell her. He instead taught her about the Force. He told her how it flowed, how it was abused, how it survived. 

Strangely, it was nothing the Jedi had taught her. 

Ahsoka fought Qui-Gon again. It went better than before. But she still lost. 

Dooku didn’t like that. He told her they were behind, that the galaxy was dying because of her. Qui-Gon didn't say anything to agree, but he didn't disagree either. She'd have to work harder and faster to save Rex. 

So that night, she stayed up meditating. She tried reaching into the Force, her home, searching for any semblance of the comfort that saved her life again and again. 

While she was still shunned from the Force, learning about its intricacies kept her going. Dooku told her about some of the Sith tricks he learned. The two of them spent the whole afternoon talking about the Force and its power. They both decided it was mysterious, and dangerous. Often misused. 

Not many listened to it when they had to, but Ahsoka told him that was common. No one ever listened when it was actually important. 

The Force knew what was coming, yet the Jedi cast a blind eye to it, just like they always had. 

If Ahsoka and Dooku agreed on one thing, it was the disillusionment of the Jedi. They’d taken the Force for granted. 

Perhaps she shouldn’t have saved them. 

She spent the next day talking to Qui-Gon about her conversation with Dooku. He told her Jedi and Sith were wrong. They used the Force for their own gain without bothering to see what it was actually saying. Jedi and Sith did not look deep enough. 

Ahsoka didn't disagree.

The conversations with the older members of her former lineage helped Ahsoka calm her mind. She was meditating almost every night, reaching out into nothingness. 

But it wasn’t nothing this time. Something reached out, just for a moment. Flashes of the galaxy flew through her mind–of Rex in a cell, Mandalorian troops gathering, Anakin training clones, Obi-Wan arguing with the Council, Padme crying alone, and civilian life. The lives of those not considered important enough. She saw famine and ruin. Separated families and bombed towns. 

And then it was gone. As soon as the visions stopped, Ahsoka jumped to her feet and ran to Qui-Gon, shouting about the Force. 

For a brief moment, it was back. 

Dooku was still angry. He thought she was supposed to be finished training by now, but Qui-Gon didn’t seem worried anymore. He didn't speak up to his former Master as much as Ahsoka would like, but she was glad to know he potentially had some faith in her. 

Ahsoka still didn’t know how much time passed in the real world, but it’d been almost seven months in this reality. 

Slowly, the world began shifting its colors from grayscale to color. It wasn’t noticeable, but every night, the Force came back more and more, and with it, color. 

She hadn’t told Qui-Gon or Dooku, worrying that they’d think she was crazy. A stupid thought, but one present all the same. 

She’d fought both Dooku and Qui-Gon too many times to count. She usually beat Dooku. But Qui-Gon was harder. Dooku was a master dueler, but Qui-Gon was…he was Qui-Gon. 

Ahsoka didn't remember Obi-Wan telling her about Qui-Gon's skill. Maybe Qui-Gon did some sort of training post-death, like what she was doing now. 

“Just one more,” Ahsoka begged as she brushed herself off after falling again. 

Qui-Gon looked at her with pity. She was covered in grime, sweat, and small amounts of blood. “Fine.”

Ahsoka raised her white sabers once more. Her shoto in the reverse grip while her main saber pointed at Qui-Gon. 

The two of them lunged at the same time. Ahsoka ducked underneath his saber and twisted to slash at his neck, which he blocked. She pushed against him and used her shoto to distract him so she could land a larger hit. 

He saw it coming and hit her shoto with his saber– hard . It flew out of her hand, leaving her with just her main saber. 

No matter. 

The two of them moved around the slightly colored clearing fluidly, as if it was a dance. 

Ahsoka had improved, anyone could see it, but Qui-Gon was tiring her out. Her attacks and parries were getting sloppy, and both of them knew it. 

She narrowed her eyes. She refused to fail again. She grabbed her shoto, not realizing she’d called a small amount of the Force to do so. 

But Qui-Gon noticed. His attacks became faster and more aggressive. 

Ahsoka grit her teeth together and rose to the challenge. Until he leaped at her, and her main saber tumbled out of her grasp. 

Qui-Gon was quickly gaining territory with every swing, and she couldn’t keep up. Her shoto flew across the field. 

Ahsoka’s feet hit the edge of a cliff. She was done for. But her mind cleared. Everything was so…obvious. She held her arms out and asked that familiar presence to help her out. She didn’t command it, or force it to do anything. She simply asked. 

It obeyed. Qui-Gon flew away from her, his back hitting a tree with orange bark and blue and white leaves. 

Ahsoka took her chance. She ran at the Jedi and called her sabers to her hands. When she reached him, she pointed the ignited sabers at his throat. 

“You are beaten,” she declared. 

“You are going home,’ Qui-Gon responded. 

Her whole world turned white and when she woke, she was in her ship, still on Ahch-To. Coordinates to Pabu were plugged into her system. All she had to do was take off and get into hyperspace. 

So she did.

Chapter Text

They’d been waiting almost three weeks for Fulcrum to return. In that time, he’d helped train his troops for the kind of fighting they’d see on Mandalore. Echo liked to watch his former legion, and often gave them some feedback. 

The clones appreciated it, and they seemed determined to rescue Rex.  

“What happens after?” Anakin asked Echo. “After Rex is safe. What do we do with Maul?”

Echo shrugged. “Tech says we take Maul back to Coruscant. Give him a trial, he’ll go to prison.”

“No, on Mandalore,” Anakin clarified. “What happens to Mandalore?”

“If Bo Katan’s alive, we reinstate her,” Echo answered. “If not, the Mandalorians have their own way.”

Anakin sighed. “I just have a feeling . Something will happen on Mandalore, I just don’t know what.”

He threw his hands up in frustration.

Echo placed a hand on Anakin’s shoulder. “We’ll figure it out.”

Anakin looked over and saw Kaeden walking towards them. He didn’t know what to think about the woman. She was tough and didn’t seem to like him. She was always staring at him, narrowing her eyes then looking away. 

What conversations they had were short and uncomfortable. Kaeden never seemed to be able to look him in the eye. It was always either conversations about their siege plans or awkward small talk. Anakin preferred the siege plans. 

“Fulcrum’s here,” Kaeden said. She glanced up at Echo for a moment, then Anakin briefly. 

She began walking away, indicating for them to follow. 

“Tech’s briefing her on the plan now,” Kaeden explained. “She’s fine, not hurt or anything.”

“How did her mission go?” Anakin asked. 

“It went fine,” Kaeden said shortly. 

“Did you even ask her?” Anakin raised an eyebrow. Something was off. The Force was practically yelling it. 

Kaeden sighed and stopped to open a door. She went in. Anakin followed. 

Tech was standing around a holotable with Crosshair, Hunter, Phee, and a short togrutan woman. Well, she wasn’t short , probably closer to average, but Anakin was still much taller than her. Besides, most of her height came from her montrals.

The togruta wore a blue jumpsuit, dark gray cloak with the hood down, and a black mask covering her entire face. She had orange skin and blue and white montrals and lekku.

Like her . But Fulcrum was alive. She was not. And it was his fault she was dead. 

“You must be Fulcrum,” Anakin said. The Force was saying something to him. Little wisps of it danced around the two of them, but it was unclear what it wanted. Still, there was something familiar about her. She turned her head and the two of them stared for a moment. 

His eyes drifted down to the lightsabers on her hips. 

“You’re a Jedi,” Anakin realized. That had to be what the Force was telling him. 

“No, you’re a Jedi,” Fulcrum responded. There was a vocoder in her mask. “I’m no one.”

Anakin frowned, but said nothing of it. It wasn’t common for Jedi to defect, but it happened much more after Order 66. Still, leaving the Order was rare. 

“Don’t you know everyone here?” Anakin asked, implying she had no reason to wear her mask. 

She crossed her arms. “My face isn’t a pretty one.”

“We just finished going over the plan,” Tech butted in. “In the event that Maul does not let Fulcrum in, the two of you will attack the main gate while the other teams get the rest of them, so our army can take the city exits and lock all opposition within the city. We are all set to attack, as long as the 501st is ready.”

Anakin nodded. “I checked in with them this morning. We’re ready.”

“Good,” Hunter said. “Rex has been with Maul too long, and the Republic’s failed to do a thing about it.”

“If we leave tonight, we’ll be there at dawn,” Fulcrum said. 

“Then that’s when we’ll leave,” Tech concluded. “Prepare the troops, make sure our ships are supplied.”

As the group disbanded, Kaeden went right to Fulcrum. The two embraced in a hug.

Anakin looked away and left. As much as he was suspicious of them and their relationship, he had other matters to attend to. 

Ahsoka wrapped her arms around Kaeden as the doors closed and it was just the two of them. Her heart rate hadn’t gone down. She took the mask off and tossed it to the ground, and her eyes immediately started watering. “He was right there.”

“I know,” Kaeden said. She hugged Ahsoka tighter. 

“And he was so…mistrustful,” Ahsoka continued. Tears streamed out of her eyes. “I just wanted to run up and hug him, but I can’t .”

“Why not?” Kaeden questioned. “What’s stopping you?”

“You know why. He thinks I’m dead,” Ahsoka replied. “I need to keep it that way.”

“Why?”

“Because if Anakin knows I’m alive, everyone will,” Ahsoka sighed. “Including Palpatine. He knows Maul stole his plans, and he knows it’s possible the Republic found the plans after the Siege. Since the Republic hasn’t been loud about them, and he probably has spies searching for them, he could think I took them.”

“But you did.”

“Well, we don’t want Darth Sidious to know that. And once he knows I’m alive, he will hunt me down to find out where I hid the plans.”

“You should tell Anakin,” Kaeden said anyway. “He won’t tell. Plus, I think he’s under the assumption that we’re having a lover’s quarrel.”

Ahsoka laughed and rolled her eyes. “As long as the cover holds.”

Kaeden smiled. “Pretty soon we’ll have a real lover’s quarrel.”

Obi-Wan paced outside the Council room. Anakin and the 501st had been missing for almost three weeks. The Council wasn’t sure Obi-Wan wasn’t part of the…excursion. 

The only good news was that Anakin hadn’t joined his former Chancellor friend again. Yet. 

Force, why were young adults so difficult?

The doors opened and Obi-Wan entered. The entire Council stared at him with wary eyes. After everything he did for them, they still didn’t trust him because of what Anakin did. As if Obi-Wan hadn’t been working to rebuild the Order, like everyone else. 

“Questions about Anakin Skywalker’s disappearance, we have for you,” Yoda said calmly. 

“Where were you when Anakin left?” Mace Windu asked, leaning forward. 

“I went back to my quarters after the Council meeting ended,” Obi-Wan explained for what felt like the hundredth time. “I fell asleep and when I woke up, I found messages from the Council saying Anakin ran away with the 501st. I had nothing to do with it.”

“Did Skywalker tell you he was leaving?” Mace Windu continued. 

“Only what he said to the Council,” Obi-Wan responded. They knew the answers, they’d asked these questions before. He clenched his fists at his side. Now was not the time nor the place to get upset. 

“Did Skywalker fall to the Dark Side?” Windu said. 

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. “If he had, would we still be here? If he had, he would have called Sidious to bring in the Sith army in a surprise attack. Anakin is not stupid enough to simply leave and waste the opportunity to rid himself of his enemies. That's exactly why he ran away.”

“So we are Anakin Skywalker’s enemies?” Luminara said with a raised eyebrow.

Obi-Wan sighed exasperatedly. “No. He left to rescue Captain Rex from Darth Maul, who took back a Republic-allied planet and we did nothing to stop him.”

“So you suggest we help him,” Shaak Ti said. 

“I, well…no, actually, yes,” Obi-Wan finally decided. “We looked weak when we did nothing to thwart Maul’s efforts in Mandalore. We lost lives in the first Siege that now means nothing.”

We lost her life. 

“We’re spread thin as it is,” Mace Windu objected. “And we’ve been trying to stay out of the major battles. Jedi are peacekeepers, not soldiers. The people of Mandalore prefer not to engage in Republic politics, anyway.”

“I’m still here, as is Plo Koon,” Obi-Wan argued. “You as well. Our armies are on Coruscant. It is the role of a Jedi to fight Sith, or have you forgotten. Darth Maul is a Sith and he is torturing innocents. By removing him from power, we will restore peace to Mandalore.”

“Then who will take the throne?” Mace Windu asked. “Any reasonable candidate could be dead.”

“If Bo-Katan Kryze is alive, we can restore her power,” Obi-Wan said. “If not, Korkie Kryze. If both of them are dead, someone else will come forward.”

Mace Windu opened his mouth to argue, but Yoda lifted his hand to indicate silence. 

“Send Masters Kenobi, Koon, and Windu to Mandalore with their clone battalions, we will,” Yoda declared. “Capture or kill Maul and return Skywalker, their mission will be.”

Obi-Wan’s chest loosened. He looked at a still fuming Mace Windu. He would not forget this. Ever since Windu lost his hand, he’d become bitter. More so than usual. And he’d become especially rude to Anakin. A reasonable reaction, but an annoying one to deal with. 

“Thank you, Master Yoda,” Obi-Wan said. “We will not disappoint.”

Chapter Text

Ahsoka looked from the shuttle warily. Sundari was right below her, its dome staring up at her coldly. Kaeden was on another shuttle, one with medics.. 

The small holopad in the shuttle beeped to life with Maul’s image. Next to him, Rex kneeled. He had cuffs on, and his face was badly bruised. 

This was how the original siege started. 

Anakin bristled beside her. 

“Took you longer than I expected,” Maul said. “Not surprising. Jedi are always so slow.”

“You’re going to give up the city and Rex,” Anakin demanded immediately. 

Ahsoka stared at Rex. It’d been so long since she saw him. His eyes were closed, but she was sure he was awake. He was so different, though. His dark roots were showing slightly, and he wasn’t as muscular. Maul was probably torturing him. She clenched her fists and grit her teeth together. When she got her hands on the Sith–

“A large demand when you have nothing to offer me,” Maul laughed. 

“I have the backing of the Republic and Jedi Order,” Anakin said. 

Ahsoka sent a glance his way. He was lying? Of course he was. Always taking risks for those he cared about. 

Maul cackled. “You do? If I can recall, you ran from Coruscant with the valiant 501st to rescue their beloved clone captain.”

“Even so, I have an army,” Anakin’s teeth grit together and his eyebrows narrowed. 

Maul tossed small, rectangular objects from one hand to the other. “And I have a planet. And your clone captain.”

Ahsoka’s stomach fell. Her jaw dropped slightly and her eyes widened. No, no, no, no, no, no. He had them. He had the plans . The weapon . He was going to–

Maul glanced at her for a brief moment and smirked to himself. Even through her mask, he knew she was panicking. “I will see you in battle.”

His image and Rex’s flickered until it was gone. He’d hung up on them. 

Anakin lifted his com-link to his face. “Prepare the shuttles. You ready?”

Ahsoka looked up to the man she used to think was invincible. “Yep.”

She hoped her voice didn’t reveal her inner turmoil. She was going to lead a siege with Anakin. Did the Force want her to relieve the past that badly? Did Qui-Gon have something to do with this? Worse, did Dooku? Who knows what kind of power Force ghosts have. Was this supposed to be poetic justice?

Anakin looked at her with a strange look on his face. Of course he could sense her feelings. As much as she tried to block him, she couldn’t do it completely, or he’d be suspicious.  

“This your first battle?” Anakin asked. He didn’t seem suspicious or wary for one. Was he being genuine?

Ahsoka stared at his face, searching for the man who didn’t want Fulcrum anywhere near him. But it was just Anakin, the same one that hugged her when she cried and stayed up all night with her when she was sick. Did he know?

There was no way…

“No, not my first,” she said quickly. Force, that was suspicious.

The shuttle flew them to the main entrance, like the plan said. 

They unloaded with the clones assigned there. In mere moments, the wasteland around Sundari was covered in battle. 

Both Mandalorians and clones danced around the sky, trading fire and dodges. Rubble and rocks were used as cover. 

Ahsoka stayed nearer to Anakin than she would’ve liked. It was almost like the old days. Except she had a mask and hood covering her face. And different armor. She wore a simple gray tank top with a brown chestplate, matching wristbands, a dark gray cloak, green cargo pants, and brown boots. 

Anakin took out his saber almost immediately. Ahsoka chose not to. She instead used the Force to pull and push Mandalorians in the directions she wanted. 

She closed her eyes and dove into the Force, sensing where the danger was. Or at least, which danger was closest. 

A blaster bolt coming towards her now redirected to its sender. A stream of fire snuffed out. Grenades sent back to the Mandalorian army. 

She had the power to stop it. 

Her head shot up as the Force shouted a warning at her. A Mandalorian grenade was barreling right towards Anakin. 

He wasn’t noticing in time. He didn’t know .

Ahsoka thrust her arms out and reached into the Force. She felt the invisible strings wrap around the grenade, forcing it to stay in the air.

It struggled against her power, wanting to explode. 

Anakin stared at her with an impressed gaze as she struggled to keep them safe. Her cloak billowed behind her. 

She grit her teeth together. Blaster fire rang all around her, and suddenly, the grenade wasn’t a grenade, but the ship Maul stole. And she wasn’t on Mandalore, she was on the Tribunal. The blaster fire wasn’t from Mandalorians, but the clones. Her brothers. 

Her throat closed up with fear. She wasn’t back there. How was she back there? She was supposed to be fighting Mandalorians, not clones. This wasn’t right . 

Another presence came around the ship, morphing it back into a grenade. The Tribunal transformed back into the outskirts of Sundari, and the Mandalorians became clones. 

Anakin stood where he had been before, only this time controlling the grenade as well. 

“To the entrance!” he shouted over the gunfire. 

She nodded and the two of them hurled the grenade to the entrance. It hit its target, just as they wanted. The men guarding it fell as debris and shrapnel cut through the weaknesses in their armor. Some pieces hit the control panel on the entrance as well, taking down the holo-shield protecting it. 

Anakin ran to her side. “Are you okay?”

She nodded. 

He looked unsure. “Don’t forget to focus.”

“I won’t,” she grumbled. 

It was almost like things were normal again. 

Ahsoka pulled out her sabers and ignited them without thinking. 

“What did you do?” Anakin yelled at her while deflecting blaster bolts. 

She glanced at him, then what he was staring at. Her lightsabers. 

“Someone bled them. I reversed it,” she replied, and suddenly the mistrust replaced concern. She turned away and dove back into the battle. She ducked and twisted away from blaster fire, blocking with her sabers when she could. 

Their attack force fought their way forward. Soon enough, they were at the entrance. 

“Let’s take the city,” Anakin pushed ahead, cutting down anyone in his way. 

Ahsoka’s comlink beeped, and she gestured to Anakin to come back. 

It was Crosshair.

“Fulcrum here,” Ahsoka said. 

“We can’t make it to the gate,” Crosshair said. “They’re forcing us back.”

Anakin swore under his breath. “We just took the main entrance. We can send some men.”

Silence. 

“Crosshair, do you copy?” Anakin demanded. 

Nothing. 

Anakin repeated himself. 

“We don’t need that backup,” Crosshair finally said. 

Anakin and Ahsoka shared a glance of confusion. 

“Why?” Anakin asked uneasily.

“Look up, you fools,” Crosshair hung up. 

Ahsoka did as she was told. Republic ships. Not from the 501st. 

“The Republic sent us backup,” Ahsoka realized, hope bubbling in her chest. She didn’t notice Anakin looking behind her at a man with ginger hair and beard. 

“Hello there,” the man said. 

Ahsoka flinched and spun around, holding her lightsabers out to fight. 

Obi-Wan’s eyes widened at the sight of her. “You’re her. You rescued Anakin.”

She frowned underneath the helmet and lowered her arms. “I–yes.”

“And no one told me?” Anakin said, seemingly annoyed. 

“None of them really know,” Ahsoka defended herself. “You can’t just go around saying you rescued Anakin Skywalker from a Sith Lord.”

“We thought you died,” Obi-Wan said. “We looked for you.”

Ahsoka’s chest clenched and anxiety churned in her stomach. “Oh. Well, here I am. We should move forward.”

And then the conversation was over and it was back to war. 

The forces from the Republic greatly helped their cause. Still, Anakin, Ahsoka, and Obi-Wan made it to the palace first. 

“We should split up here,” Obi-Wan suggested. “Fulcrum and I will look for Rex. Anakin, take some clones to find Maul. Everyone else will help take the city.”

Anakin nodded. “You four, with me.” 

The group entered the palace first. 

“Any ideas where Rex is?” Fulcrum asked him. 

“The Force will guide us,” Obi-Wan said, and they followed Anakin inside.

Obi-Wan guided her through the palace to the cells, though she didn’t need it. Still, Obi-Wan didn’t know she’d been here before. 

“This way to the cells,” Obi-Wan told her. 

This was where Maul killed Almec to prevent him from talking , Ahsoka remembered. Bo-Katan was almost crushed by an elevator.  

Ahsoka turned a corner and something tackled her to the ground. Someone had their hands around her throat. Panic gripped her mind, but she didn’t let it stay. She reached for the Mandalorian’s shoulders to flip their positions, but someone got there first. 

The weight on top of her suddenly vanished and was replaced with an outstretched hand. 

She took it. When she stood up again, her attacker laid on the ground, dead, with a lightsaber hole in his chest. 

“Thank you,” she said. 

“Of course,” Obi-Wan replied with a gentle smile. “Let’s find Rex.”

They walked through the hallways. Most of them were empty or had corpses in them. 

“He killed anyone who opposed him,” Ahsoka said bitterly. 

Obi-Wan didn’t respond. He was a few steps ahead at a cell. Ahsoka walked to where Obi-Wan was, and her chest exploded with happiness. 

Rex was there, alive. 

It didn’t last long. A blaster shot hit Obi-Wan in the arm. Not a critical location, but a painful one nonetheless. Her mind drifted to the different times she’d been shot. Order 66 had been the worst of them all, just by the sheer number of shots she took. 

More Mandalorian warriors appeared. 

Obi-Wan ignited his saber. “You get Rex.”

Ahsoka nodded. She plunged her lightsaber into the control panel, opening the door. Rex was on the bed, asleep or unconscious. 

She kneeled next to him and gently tapped him awake with the Force.

His eyes looked blurry as he slowly sat up. “Ahsoka?”

Ahsoka glanced back at Obi-Wan. He didn’t notice.

“Ahsoka’s dead,” she said, though the words hurt her. “I’m not her.”

Rex laughed. “She just wants you to think that. I’d recognize her anywhere. She’s right here.” he lazily pointed at her. 

Ahsoka heaved her arm under Rex’s shoulders. 

Obi-Wan was just outside finishing up with the Mandalorians who attacked. When he saw Ahsoka and Rex leaving, he went to Rex’s other side to support the clone. 

“Let’s go,” Ahsoka said, leading the way. 

A few feet in, Obi-Wan commented. “You know your way around this place.”

“She’s been here before,” Rex said, still half asleep. “You know the Siege.”

Obi-Wan looked at Ahsoka, so she looked forward. 

“We just need to find a medic, then we can help Anakin with Maul,” Ahsoka said, hoping to change the subject. Unfortunately, Rex had other plans. 

“Maul has the plans,” Rex said. “Ahsoka, he found them.”

Her stomach dropped. She knew Maul had the plans. Maul showed her them when he showed them Rex. But he knew she was Ahsoka, and now Obi-Wan knew she wasn’t dead. Fuck. 

“What are these plans?” Obi-Wan asked. 

“I don’t know,” Ahsoka lied. “He must be hallucinating.”

“Of course,” Obi-Wan said. 

He doesn’t believe you , Ahsoka realized. As they walked up stairs, she saw what she wanted. A group of medics. 

“We have him!” she shouted “We found Rex! He needs help.”

Two medics ran over with a stretcher, and Ahsoka and Obi-Wan helped Rex onto it. 

“I don’t know what Maul did to him,” she told them. 

“Ahsoka, he’s not playing around,” Rex shouted as they carried him off. 

She lifted her comlink to her face and pressed a few buttons. “Kaeden, this is Ahsoka.”

“Kaeden here.”

“I just sent you my coordinates,” Ahsoka explained. “We’ve found Rex and given him to some medics, but I’d like you to help.”

“On it.” 

Ahsoka hung up. “Let’s find Maul.”

Chapter Text

Maul was exactly where she thought he’d be. Locked in a stalemate with Anakin. The clones he took as backup were scattered around the throne room, dead. 

“So nice of you to join us,” Maul said with a sadistic grin. He took a few steps away from Anakin, who stepped back with Obi-Wan and Ahsoka. 

“The pleasure is all mine,” Obi-Wan responded with his classic negotiator charm. 

“I expect you found your captain easy enough?” Maul asked, pretending to be concerned. 

“Yes, we did,” Obi-Wan replied, putting his lightsaber in his hand. 

“Is it really time for that?” Maul said. “We just started talking.”

Ahsoka scanned the room. The window was replaced since her last time here, and the throne was the exact same. 

“If you’re looking for the plans, they’re not here,” Maul said. “I won’t let the Republic get their hands on them ever again.”

Ahsoka frowned under her mask. They couldn’t go back to this topic. “What’s your obsession with Mandalore?”

Maul laughed. He lunged at Obi-Wan first. The Jedi Master saw it coming and raised his saber just in time to block.

Anakin joined the party quickly after, ready to defend his friend. 

The three of them danced around the throne room much like Ahsoka had just two years prior. 

A figure to the side caught Ahsoka’s attention. She had ginger hair and blue armor. 

Ahsoka ran to her side. “Bo Katan.”

“Ahsoka?” 

She nodded. 

Bo Katan gestured to her abdomen, where there was a hole. “Stabbed me with the Darksaber.”

Ahsoka’s eyes burned, but she couldn’t get herself to say anything. She held Bo Katan’s hand, but the Mandalorian ruler had other ideas. She pressed something cylindrical shaped into Ahsoka’s hand. 

The Darksaber. 

“Take it back,” Bo Katan said with pleading eyes. “Satine couldn’t, I couldn’t, but you can. Take it back.”

Ahsoka gripped the Darksaber in one hand and Bo Katan’s hand in the other. “What if I fail?”

“Then Mandalore dies,” Bo Katan’s chest stopped rising. Her face relaxed and her hand fell limp. 

She stood slowly, placing the Darksaber on her hip. 

Maul, Anakin, and Obi-Wan were still fighting, but their movements were slower. They were getting tired. 

Ahsoka saw the next move before anyone else did. Maul swung his saber at Obi-Wan, only to move it to Anakin at the last moment. In the rush to block, Anakin was caught off guard. He fell backwards, and Obi-Wan almost found himself falling over from his momentum to block the initial attack. 

Maul swept Anakin into his arms in one swift movement and held his saber to the Chosen One’s throat. 

And suddenly intense amounts of fear filled Ahsoka’s mind that she was about to lose her brother. 

“ Stop! ” Ahsoka shouted, putting her sabers into her hands. All heads turned to her. “Put Anakin down.”

“Why should I do that?” Maul said. 

“ Fuck , I–I don’t know,” Ahsoka was at a loss for words.

“Exactly!” Maul said sharply. His voice rose. “You steal my plans, let me out of that glorified box , only to hope I die, try to steal my shuttle, disappear, so I have to draw you out of hiding by kidnapping your best friend! I told you Order 66 would happen and you didn’t believe me! I warned you! You’ve no one to blame for this predicament but yourself .”

He spat out the words spitefully, likely spitting onto Anakin, and his voice was shallow and emotional.

“Fulcrum, what is this?” Anakin asked warily, glancing between Maul and Ahsoka. 

She had to ignore it. Fury burned in her chest. 

“Excuse you,” Ahsoka rolled her eyes, ignoring Anakin. “ You stole those plans first from Darth fucking Sidious, I let you out for a distraction then you went off destroying the entire fucking hyperdrive which caused the Tribunal to crash, then you stole the shuttle I was going to take, not even offering Rex or I a spot. And you didn’t warn me or whatever the fuck you wanna believe. You were going to use me to make some messed up power grab and kill Anakin.”

But Maul was smiling at her. The realization washed over her. Her references to Order 66– 

Fuck, she even mentioned Rex.

She laughed bitterly and took off her cloak, leaving it on the ground behind her and exposing all her scars she’d picked up the past few years. The burn on her arm from her fight with the inquisitor tingled in anticipation. This would end in a fight. 

Ahsoka could feel Anakin and Obi-Wan’s intense gazes across her face, her scars, her sabers.  

“You stupid bitch,” Ahsoka giggled breathlessly. Leave it to Maul to mess it all up. This was exactly what he wanted. 

“You’re…”Anakin looked at her with pleading eyes. He didn’t want it to be true. 

But she had to ignore it, because Maul was the bigger threat. 

Ahsoka reached up to the mask and took it from her face, tossing it to the side. She remembered the words Bo Katan told her and lifted her main lightsaber and ignited it. 

“Darth Maul of Dathomir, I, Ahsoka Tano of Shili challenge you for the title and powers of Mand’alor,” she spat out the words savagely. 

“Ahsoka, NO !” Anakin shouted and tried to squirm his way out of Maul’s grasp. 

“Just you against me?” Maul clarified. “ No one else can interrupt?”

Ahsoka nodded. “Just the two of us.”

“I accept,” Maul pushed Anakin to the side. “And for the record, it was a fantastic distraction.”

Ahsoka rolled her eyes and the two began circling each other. She twisted and spun the sabers in her grasp, as did Maul. 

“Ahsoka, don’t ,” Anakin pleaded as she got closer. He grabbed her arm and the two locked eyes. 

“It’s too late,” Ahsoka ripped her arm away, rougher than she would’ve liked. 

Maul took this moment to attack. He leaped up and attacked from above. Ahsoka was almost too late to dodge, but she rolled out of the way in time to meet his saber with hers from the right. 

Obi-Wan grabbed Anakin’s shoulder and began dragging him to the exit. 

“We have to help her!” Anakin cried out, but Obi-Wan didn’t let him stay. He grabbed Anakin’s collar. 

When they left, Maul and Ahsoka hadn’t even noticed. They just continued to dance. 

Ahsoka lunged for Maul’s neck, but he swung upwards to push her saber out of her hands. But she pushed back, shoving Maul down. 

“You’ve grown,” Maul sneered. 

“You’re still short,” Ahsoka snapped back and did a backflip to get away from Maul’s next horizontal swing. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she bounded forward to land a strike. Maul jumped to his left and kicked Ahsoka back. She grunted but didn’t let it impact her. Focusing on it would lead to failure. 

The two of them traveled around the throne room for what felt like ages. They were losing energy, movements became sloppy. 

Ahsoka reached up her shoto to block an incoming attack on her head. Once Maul’s saber hit hers, she slid out from underneath and kneed Maul’s spine. He shouted in pain, but twisted to face her anyway. 

His face was a mess of fury. A nasty looking bruise was forming on his cheek and several other locations on his chest and arms. 

Ahsoka was sure she looked the same. Blood trickled out of her nose and she had several small bruises along her face and arms. She would be sore for the rest of her lifetime if she lived. 

Maul took a few steps back to breathe. “You’re different.”

“It has been two years,” Ahsoka pointed out. 

“Do you remember the offer I made you?” Maul asked. 

She nodded warily. 

“I still believe the two of us would have defeated Sidious,” Maul sighed. “Alas, the past is the past.”

“You’re right,” Ahsoka agreed. “The past is the past. You should’ve given up your evil dictator dream.”

“It was not just a dream, Lady Tano,” Maul said. “It was a vision .”

He lunged at her suddenly. She barely had any time to dodge, and suddenly her shoto was flying out of her hand. Maul swung his saber upwards, cutting her shoto in two. 

A sudden pain shot through her mind as the two pieces hit the ground. And with it, crumbled, burnt pieces of her kyber crystal. 

Ahsoka bent to one knee and clutched her head. She screamed in pain. In one movement, her connection to the crystal was gone. The crystal she healed, gone. He destroyed it. 

She lifted her head slowly to Maul with watering eyes and pure contempt on her face. For all it was worth, he looked shocked as well, but neither of them had the time to process it. 

The kyber crystal exploded. Ahsoka felt herself crash into the glass behind her and little glass shards found their way into her back. 

And then the Force suddenly gathered around her body as her back hit the ground and there was a defining crack, then everything went dark. 

Obi-Wan forced Anakin to sit on the ground just outside the palace. Their troops made a makeshift camp here. 

“I’m going back,” Anakin struggled against Obi-Wan’s heavy arms. 

“She has to fight her own battles,” Obi-Wan said, though he didn’t look like he agreed with his own words. 

“She’s my Padawan!” Anakin roared. “And Maul’s crazy. She’s gonna–”

“If you have faith in your teachings, she will be fine,” Obi-Wan interrupted. 

Anakin stopped resisting. “I thought she was dead. Rex told me she was dead, and I had no reason to think otherwise.”

“She’s okay,” Obi-Wan sat next to Anakin. “I promise.”

“What the fuck are those plans Maul was talking about?” Anakin asked with a confused grin. 

“I don’t know,” Obi-Wan admitted. “Rex knew of their existence.”

“Of course he did,” Anakin frowned heavily. “Did you see that burn on her arm?”

Obi-Wan nodded. “She didn’t have that when we knew her, right?”

Anakin shook his head. “There’s no way. What do you think she did?”

“Something you’d do, I suppose,” Obi-Wan said half jokingly. 

Anakin’s face quickly grew into a smile. “Ahsoka’s alive .”

Obi-Wan smiled too. “Yes, she is.”

“She looks so old ,” Anakin laughed some more. 

“Not as old as you,” Obi-Wan commented, gesturing to Anakin’s growing stubble. 

But their happiness was destroyed in one moment. 

An explosion shattered the glass of the Sundari palace, and an orange, blue, and white figure came flying out of the window to a clearing of an abandoned park. 

Anakin watched the whole thing with horror. His Padawan just flew out of a giant window.

He ran in the direction of where it must be. Tired citizens gathered all around the area, staring at his Padawan. Didn’t they know it was dangerous to be outside?

“Fuck, I can’t–” Anakin struggled against the crowd. “I can’t see.”

Obi-Wan pointed to a building tall enough that they’d be able to see from the roof. 

Anakin nodded. He called upon the Force and jumped there. Obi-Wan was right behind him. 

Maul jumped from the hole in the palace. Burns covered his torso, and he looked heavily bruised. He favored his left side, too. 

Ahsoka laid on her back, motionless except for the small rise and fall of her chest. 

He reached into the Force, into the hole where his Padawan sat. 

Ahsoka, get up.

Nothing. 

Get up!

Maul was getting closer. 

Ahsoka, get the fuck up!

Ahsoka, get up. A comforting voice in her head said. But she was so tired. She wanted to sleep. 

Get up! The voice repeated slightly louder. She opened one eye, seeing only brightness and feeling only pain. Her ribs ached, and she was sure her body was filled with cuts from the glass. 

Ahsoka, get the fuck up! The voice said again. She jolted awake. The fight with Maul. 

“I have defeated–” Maul began. 

“No you fucking haven’t, asshole!” Ahsoka heard herself saying. She coughed blood into the air and wiped sweat off her forehead. Her hand found her main saber on the ground just a little bit away as she stood up slowly, limb by limb.

Force, why does everything hurt? She gently cradled her ribs, some of which were most certainly bruised. It felt like her left lekku and side took the brunt of the explosion, but she didn’t want to see it. She was sure she looked like a broken woman. 

“I’m still here,” she said, coming to her full height. 

“You lost your shoto,” Maul pointed out. “Just admit you’ve lost !”

“Not until I’m dead in the ground,” Ahsoka spat out blood. “Besides, Bo Katan left me a gift.”

She took the Darksaber from her belt and ignited both of her sabers. “How’s that for defeated?”

Maul’s eyes narrowed at her. He didn’t take his saber from his belt. He reached his hands forward. 

Ahsoka knew what he was going to do as soon as he didn’t get his lightsaber. With remarkable speed, she returned her sabers to her belt and pushed back in the Force. 

Ahsoka realized quickly that Maul wanted to shove her away, to hurt her more without getting too close, because he was hurt too. She wouldn’t let him. She called upon all the strength she could, diving deeper into the Force than she ever had. 

Remember your lessons. A familiar, kind voice said in her head. 

Remember our duels. Another familiar, less kind voice added. 

Ahsoka pushed back harder. Wind blew past her face, pushing her back, but Maul was slipping on the ground he stood on as well. Her scream joined Maul’s, both lost in the wind. 

Maul suddenly sent a burst of Force her way, but she braced herself as soon as she felt his signature shift in the Force. Always anticipate your opponent’s next move , she remembered. 

The sheer power flowing through her was unimaginable. She’d never felt so in control. It was like she could feel exactly what she had to do at the exact right time. 

With one last effort, Ahsoka sent a wave of the Force to Maul. It overtook his, and he flew backwards into the wall behind him. 

Almost immediately, she leaped into the air, grabbed her sabers, and descended onto him. Maul barely had any time to react. 

She moved quickly, anticipating his movements. Maul was tired, but Ahsoka wasn’t. She’d trained for this. Every moment spent with Qui-Gon and Count Dooku wasn’t a waste. 

They must’ve known what would happen. 

Ahsoka jumped up and twisted over Maul, who tried to swing at her neck. He followed her and she fell onto his body, her feet on his legs as he was forced to bend backwards. Their lightsabers clashed into a lock as she pressed all her strength onto him. 

But Maul forced his lightsaber closer to her. His red blade pressed into her left cheek, and she held her face out as far as she could. It burned, but she couldn’t focus on that. 

She suddenly turned off her lightsabers and backflipped off Maul’s legs. The former Sith fell forward, and his lightsaber turned off as it hit the ground. 

“Who taught you?” Maul asked with horror.

“You might know them,” Ahsoka said smugly. “You know Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi.” she paused. “Oh, and Count Dooku and Qui-Gon Jinn.”

It was like slow-motion. Maul desperately grabbed his lightsaber and bolted to her. Ahsoka collected herself in the Force, feeling a sudden calm. She raised her left hand and pointed at Maul with two fingers. 

Lightning shot out of her fingers to Maul, cutting through his body. She wasted no time lunging at him with the Darksaber, plunging it through his chest. He fell to the ground, limp.

“Beware…” Maul said softly. “Project…Stardust.”

His chest rose and fell for the last time. 

She stood from his body triumphantly, stepping away and wiping her brow. She won . Mandalore was hers . 

She looked herself over, seeing her clothes burnt and torn in a good deal of places. Her left wrist guard was practically gone.

But as the battle ended, so did her flow of adrenaline. Her chest hissed in a sharp pain, sending her to her knees. 

A familiar woman ran to her side. She placed her hands on Ahsoka’s cheeks, careful not to touch the lightsaber burn. “Ahsoka, what the hell were you thinking?”

Ahsoka chuckled blankly. “Just y’know, normal people things.”

“Come on, let me treat your injuries,” Kaeden offered. 

“Not yet,” Ahsoka pushed Kaeden away and stumbled back to her feet, staring at the crowd of people who watched the fight. They looked at her with wary eyes, but hopeful smiles. 

Ahsoka raised an ignited Darksaber. Cheers immediately roared from the people. 

Maul was dead. The people of Mandalore didn’t have to worry anymore.

Ahsoka fell back to her knees and cried out in pain. “You can treat my injuries now.”

Kaeden beckoned over some clone medics who had been waiting patiently. 

“We still need to find the plans,” Ahsoka reminded Kaeden before falling into darkness. The last thing she saw was two figures running towards her, along with comforting waves in the Force.