The Adventures of Babysitting with Ahsoka Tano (COMPLETE)

Part 30

TW: Suicide

As Anakin's appearance returned to normal, Ahsoka checked his pulse. Quick, but there. That was all she needed. Now to wrap up this mission and go home. 

"Jesse, start planting explosives," she ordered, pointing to the age ray. "As many as we've got. The Separatists might try to pick through the wreckage, and they can't find anything."

"Won't they just recreate the machine?" Cody asked as Jesse got to work. "We destroyed that lab, but the scientist is still out there."

"No, she's somewhere on board," Ahsoka corrected, picking up Anakin. "Leave her to me. Kix, we did it. Both Jedi are back to normal."

"Has their memory returned?"

"No idea. They're unconscious."

Kix sighed. "Too much to hope for, I guess. Get them back here, and I'll monitor their recovery."

Ahsoka nodded. The clone troopers looked to her, awaiting orders.

Rex walked up to help carry Anakin, and Ahsoka passed the Jedi Knight off to him. "All of you head back to the gunships. I'll get our men on the bridge and take care of Podek. Once everyone is off the destroyer, tell the bridge to open fire. There can only be about ten more droids on this ship. Keep your eyes peeled and your weapons hot. I'll be back soon."

"Sir, yes sir!" they responded. Cody grabbed Obi-Wan and slung him over his shoulder, and the troopers followed Ahsoka back into the hallway. 

"I'll take the same route we took earlier," Ahsoka instructed. "Go that way; you'll have a straight shot at the hangar. Leave a gunship for me and the others."

They took off in the direction she pointed, and Ahsoka watched them go for a moment. It was a huge relief to know that Anakin and Obi-Wan would be okay, but she had a few loose ends to tie up before she put this mission behind her. 

First, the troopers on the bridge. Retracing her steps, she ran alone through the destroyer, her footsteps echoing through the empty halls.

It felt weird to be on one of these ships again. Though Ahsoka was the Inquisitor, she and the Sister had slowly become separate entities. The Sister's more recent memories felt like secondhand stories she had heard, or maybe a dream. It made sense for her to be on a Separatist warship, but Ahsoka? No, not her. She wasn't supposed to be here. The two of them had just begun to split right before these days came to pass. 

She wasn't the Inquisitor, and she wasn't a Jedi, though her clothes suggested otherwise at the moment. Neither Obi-Wan nor Anakin had blinked when she claimed to be a part of the Order, except for when Anakin became suspicious of her loyalty. She might have been offended four years ago, but after Pong Krell, Barriss, Palpatine, and herself, it didn't faze her. 

What fazed her was the sudden return of the bond that had been disappearing during the entire mission. Something she said must have clicked in Anakin's head because their connection regrew. For some reason, she doubted that Anakin recognized her, but maybe it didn't have anything to do with Anakin's memory. Maybe it was something else.

Before she knew it, she was approaching the bridge. So were the last few battle droids on board. Ahsoka brandished her lightsabers and lunged, slicing them to bits before they could reach the door. There was only a handful of them, so she was left standing alone in a matter of seconds. 

The bridge door opened to reveal the four troopers that had been stationed there. "Nice work, sir," Ridge complimented her. "Those were the last of them."