The next thing she felt was hard, dry ground. Bits of stone dug into her body like knives, highlighting the extent of her battle wounds.
Ripples of pain burned through her, starting from her twisted ankles and progressing upwards, with her legs shaking and too weak to even carry half her weight. It travelled through her like electricity, burning her stomach and stabbing the bones in her back until she arched in utter agony.
Then it raced up her throat, choking her, and ripped open her mouth in a terrible scream.
The sound of her own voice deafened her. But worst of all, it brought back the memories. They flooded through her mind so suddenly and abruptly that she found herself unable to breath; she was drowning in her own mind.
She squeezed her eyes tightly shut in terror, for once begging the darkness to take away her consciousness, begging it to take away or even finish her pain.
And for once it never came. Instead the pain burned through her like fire.
But it was nothing compared to the flood of images flashing through her mind.
She heard agonisingly loud screams of terror along with her own. The others seemed to come from all directions, and they seemed to come from people both young and old. They cried out for mercy along with their friends and mourned for those that they'd already lost. A hum of a lightsaber could be heard in the distance, along with blaster fire.
But gradually the noise of blasters increased, as if more had arrived. The screams began to fade, each one cutting off suddenly as if they'd been silenced forever.
At long last the final scream ended, but it didn't end the memory. The sound lay clearly in the Togruta's mind, an ever lasting echo.
And then suddenly everything stopped. There was only silence. Like she'd been falling for hours, before finally hitting the bottom of a seemingly endless pit.
Even the violent rush of fear that had flooded her body moments before, had vanished. She felt utterly calm, almost emotionless. What was happening?
Ahsoka found it even more surprising when she found she could move. There were no ropes tying her down and she wasn't paralysed. She was...free. She was alive. Her heart was beating. A sea of red blood was still flowing through her body. The Chosen One's former padawan had outrun death yet again.
A sigh of relief escaped from behind her lips, releasing a breath of air she didn't realise she'd been holding. It didn't make sense. How was she still alive?
Do not be so sure that you are alive.
Ahsoka's eyes flew open and a golden light flooded her vision momentarily, briefly blinding her. A somewhat familiar voice had spoken, but she was sure she had imagined it. Somehow, the sound had come from inside her own head, causing a flicker of panic to rush through her.
The Force is strong here, Ahsoka Tano. But do not let the darker side of it overwhelm you, for the balance must always be maintained.
"Who are you?" Ahsoka sat up, her body screaming in protest. This time, the voice had come from all around her, echoing off the walls of the large cave she appeared to be in, "What do you mean?"
I am the one who brought you back to life when you were only sixteen. When you were killed, I gave you life in exchange for my own. Since then, I have watched over you carefully through the force, although you have not known it, "
"The daughter," she whispered in disbelief, her mind wandering back to the memories of Mortis. The experience had been dark and somewhat unreal; she barely remembered a thing.
What she did remember though, was the fact that the daughter had saved her from death - brought her back from it, even. She'd been a bright, peaceful light in a world of darkness and fear. Nothing could ever replace her.
Ahsoka's heart hammered. Her head was spinning, but it was down to the adrenaline in her veins more than anything else. Everything had changed once again. Where did her trust lay? The daughter's voice was a welcome distraction in the void of darkness, but who knew if the voice was truly real. The force could play cruel tricks on those who knew its ways.
Besides, who knew if she was even still alive. Perhaps she belonged to the force now, more than ever before. Maybe she existed only as a ghost of her former self.
Do not doubt yourself, young one. Focus. What do you feel?
"Darkness," Ahsoka replied, her eyes closed as she allowed the force to sweep through her. "And light - but it's so...faint."
The daughter did not respond, so Ahsoka allowed her senses to widen further, reaching into the unknown chasm of pitch black. There was nothing more but an infinity of darkness, with threads of the dark side embedded throughout.
It chilled her to the bone, knowing she was surrounded from all angles. She may have been no Jedi, but she was certainly no Sith either, or any being that meddled with the dark side. She longed for the light - for balance.
There was none to be found.
"There's nothing!" she cried out. "There's no light!"
Calm. Broaden your mind. The dark side is only a barrier for as long as you believe it holds greater strength. Overcome that barrier, and you shall be rewarded with peace.
"I can't!" she clenched her fists in frustration. Her energy was already bubbling away; she felt drained. Her entire body was sore and weak, empty and exhausted. Sleep called to her, its gentle lull numbing her senses. For all she knew, it might even have mean the lull of death. Whatever it truly was, it called to her. It was so tempting...so easy...
No.
No. She couldn't give up now. She'd made it this far. She'd spent nearly fifteen years rebelling against the empire. She couldn't just give up and die in some murky cave on a desolate planet in the Outer Rim.
The Galaxy needed her. She couldn't bear the thought of it being drowned in an endless sea of darkness. She needed to help bring back light. It didn't matter if it cost her. The worst that could happen was failure, but at least she would go down fighting.
If she wasn't fighting, Ahsoka Tano would not go down at all.
With the last of her remaining strength, she defied the physical limitations of her battered body and hauled herself upwards. Her legs protested. Her heart began to hammer harder. Her shaking hand reached out and grasped at the darkness, squeezing with the force.
With every ounce of will power contained within her, she pushed it back, crushing the tendrils of darkness until they submitted to the light. The force churned, darkness retreating, until the balance returned, final and steady.
A glimmer of dim light lit up the damp, rocky floor and Ahsoka looked up to see lightening breaking through the pitch black above her.
She'd done it. She was free.
Behind her, a voice let out a gentle whisper.
Bring balance to the force, bring hope to the Galaxy.
A/N:
Well, there's your update for the year. Happy 2018 everyone! And no, you aren't dreaming. I did actually update something.
I'm just kidding. I'll update again if anyone wants me to.
Love you all,
Ahsokafanfic
xxx
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I Won't Leave You; Not This Time
Fanfiction"Ahsoka..." the figure by the name of Darth Vader choked out her name, breathless. But she was no longer sure whether she could call him that. The so called man he claimed to be would never say that, never sound like that. --- A look into what happ...
