The Rise of the Valkyrie *ON HIATUS*

Chapter Twenty-Nine

"Have you let go of your attachments?"

Ashara's eyes opened and she looked around the cave, seeing no one. She frowned, looking around again, before spotting her older self, the one she had encountered before.

"Have you let go of your attachments?" her older self repeated. It was at that moment, that Ashara remembered the dream she had had many months ago, and had since forgotten it.

"No", Ashara answered truthfully. "Anakin is still my best friend, and I will always care for him. I lost my squad, but they will never truly be gone as they will live on in my memory, and in the memories of others."

"What about Rex?" Her older self asked the million dollar question. Ashara bit her lip, all of her memories of Rex flashing through her head. Their first meeting on Christophsis, and how she could feel Rex studying her. The times they had run into each other, literally. The time he seemed so caring and protective of her when she got hurt on the Lurmen's planet. How he tried to kiss her when she woke from her coma of seven months but then walked away without doing it. How he said it was a mistake. She then remembered her most painful memory of him, the one where he said that she was not the one he wanted to settle down with one day. Tears filled her eyes, and she forced back all the memories, wishing that they had never come forth in the first place.

"I can't", she whispered. "I love him too much."

"I know", her older self said in return. "I know how hard this is for you. But if you want to remain a Jedi, you must remove him from your heart. You must remove all of them from your heart."

Ashara shook her head. "No. I refuse. One day, after this war is over, I'll convince Anakin to leave the Jedi Order. Then he doesn't have to live a secret life anymore with Padme. And maybe... just maybe... Rex will come with us..."

Ashara's older self closed her eyes, a small tear leaking from one of them. "I wish you knew your future that is now my past. Then maybe you would listen to me. But if you knew the future, you would try to change it, and that cannot happen."

Ashara frowned. "Why not?"

"Because if it does happen how I know it will, then everything in this universe will shatter. And you will exist no more, so it does happen exactly how it has to."

"How do you know that?!" Ashara snapped.

"Because I have seen other universes where we try to change what happened, and it didn't work!"

Ashara sighed softly. "Alright. I won't ask what happens in the future. I just hope that everything works out well."

Her older self sighed. "It gets to a point where it becomes bearable. But when it first happens, it's hard to believe that it happened."

Ashara hummed, but didn't press. As she thought about what could possibly happen, she didn't notice her older self disappear, and her eyes start to drift close.

Her eyes shoot open, and she saw Ahsoka, and Obi-Wan in the cave, Obi-Wan leaning over Ahsoka in worry.

"I had a vision", Ahsoka mumbled. "I think Anakin may be in trouble."

They all got up in a hurry, and went outside where the sun was starting to rise. As they walked forward, and as the sun came up, the plants came back and became a beautiful forest again.

"The longer we stay here, the stranger this place gets", Ahsoka said. Ashara silently agreed.

"It appears the planet is renewing herself." Ashara looked around, admiring the lush forest once again, but Ahsoka's question made her swivel her head back toward the duo in front of her.

"What about master Skywalker", she had asked. 

"Anakin will not be easily deceived", Obi-Wan spoke, reassuring the young padawan. Ashara finally noticed how much the young togruta seemed to have grown in the past several months. She had changed her outfit, one that was more mature of her, and she carried herself differently. Ashara smiled to herself. Ahsoka would make a fine Jedi, especially under the tutelage of Anakin, with a little bit of help from Obi-Wan. Part of her wondered if she should get her own padawan, but she figured that that maybe might not be such a good idea, with her track record of losing people.

Speaking of losing people, she had lost sight of Obi-Wan and Ahsoka, and hurried forward when she heard their surprised yells. She saw them being carried off by two large creatures and yelled for them, igniting her lightsabers, but the creatures flew far away before she reached them.

"Dank farrik!" she cursed, watching as her friends became smaller and smaller in the distance. She scoffed and started running, following the force as it guided her. However, it did not guide her in the direction of her friends. Instead she found a small clearing, but the ground seemed to be made of dirt. She frowned but knew that this was were the force had been guiding her.

"Why here?" she murmured. "Why am I here?"

"You are here because there are many who need to speak with you, and this is the strongest place in the galaxy to do so", a voice spoke from behind her. She whirled around, and spotted a familiar Jedi, one that she hadn't seen since she was seven.

"Qui-Gon", she said breathlessly. "How are you here right now?"

"That is a story for another time, little one", he murmured. "Right now, you need to understand something about Anakin."

"What about Anakin?" Ashara asked, feeling a little cautious now. Qui-Gon sighed.

"He is destined to be the chosen one, but if he returns to the war, you and everyone you have grown to love will die at his hands."

Ashara scoffs. "Yeah right. Anakin is the strongest Jedi I know. He would never betray the Jedi Order."

"Little one, you must listen to me. You already know that Anakin doesn't obey all the rules. After all, Jedi aren't supposed to be married, are they?"

Ashara froze. "How do you know that? Anakin has only told me about Padme, even if Obi-Wan and Ahsoka suspect! And you died before Anakin was even old enough to get married!"

Qui-Gon growled in frustration. "That isn't the point! You must get Anakin off of his current trajectory! If you don't, Ahsoka, Obi-Wan and Rex will die!"

"And Anakin? What will happen to him?!" the togruta spat back, hands moving toward her lightsabers. Qui-Gon sighed.

"He will turn to the dark side", he said softly. Ashara shook her head.

"Anakin is too kind and selfless to do anything of that sort! Besides, he has Obi-Wan, Padme, and I to keep him safe from that path! He's too strong to turn to the dark side!"

Qui-Gon sighed softly. "If you believe that, then so be it. Be careful, little one. If you don't help Anakin, you may never see the light again."

With that, he faded away, and Ashara was left alone with her mind. Qui-Gon had planted a little seed of doubt there, and she fought hard against it. She wouldn't believe what he had said. She couldn't believe what he said. She had to stay strong. For Anakin.