The Unchronicled Adventures Of Ahsoka Tano, Book Ten

Chapter Twenty-Six: I Let You Fall

AHSOKA TANO

In that moment, for Ahsoka, everything slowed drastically. Strain as her fingers did, with her shoulder compromised, she just couldn't keep her grip on her husband's hand.

She watched Lux plummet down to earth, her mouth frozen in a cry of horror. His expression was so eerily calm as he fell, and he didn't search frantically through the empty air for handholds. It was as if he had chosen to accept his fate.

Ahsoka gazed down after him as he disappeared beneath the canopy of brilliantly colored trees and flowers, her fingers outstretched halfheartedly towards the spot where she had lost sight of him.

He's gone. Ahsoka couldn't move. Tears dripped from her wide eyes, drawing jagged lines in the dust on her cheeks and accumulating on her trembling lower lip.

Lux is gone.

His unnaturally serene grey eyes would haunt her for the rest of her–

Suddenly, Ahsoka's attention was drawn back to the present as the trees below her began to shake. Before she could even begin to wonder what was causing it, a group of enormous, iridescent mushroom-like creatures that Ahsoka couldn't decide whether they were plant or animal shot into the air, propelled by long vines that seemed to serve as tentacles much as they would a squid.

And flying up towards her atop the creature in the lead was Lux. His leg was bent under him at a strange angle and he was covered in scratches, but he was very much alive.

As soon as the mushroom-squid was close enough, Lux half fell, half leapt towards her. He landed a little further up on the ledge with a cry of pain, and, just like that, Ahsoka's muscles surged back into action. She scrambled towards him, ignoring the agony that shot in waves up her arm.

Lux pulled her into a warm embrace, holding her close. Ahsoka was able to keep her composure for exactly three seconds before she started crying again, this time of relief instead of fear and anguish.

"I'm sorry; I'm so sorry," he repeated over and over again, rocking her gently back and forth. He kissed her shoulder, pulling her tighter. "I should have warned you... I just felt like there just wasn't time."

"I– I let you fall, like... like I let Steela fall..." Ahsoka stifled a sob. "I nearly let you fall then too. It was my fault. Her death was all my fault–"

She couldn't find the strength to continue speaking.

"Ahsoka, it wasn't your fault," Lux whispered. "We all had our reasons to blame ourselves, but in the end it was just the way things played out – nothing more. I still miss her, and Saw does too, but you don't need to keep carrying that."

"I still feel like I let you down," she said. Her sobs were beginning to ease up. "Y– you and Saw... I knew how much she meant to you. I was the one who dropped her, Lux. It was down to me and I– I failed. I couldn't save her."

"Oh, love..." Lux butted his nose up against her lekku, holding her close a moment more. Then, he pulled away a little, tilting her face up with his hands. "Ahsoka? Ahsoka, we don't have much time left. How's your arm?"

"It– It'll be fine," Ahsoka said, deliberately avoiding the question. She took a moment to dry her eyes before meeting his gaze – there would be time to cry later. "What about you?"

Lux nodded and reached over to test his leg. But he reared back a moment later with a hiss of pain. "I think it's broken. I won't be able to run. Ahsoka, I'm not going to be able to make it... and you won't either if you–"

"Don't talk like that," Ahsoka said, cutting him off, and hoisted him to his feet. Her breath caught in her throat as he stumbled, but, knowing that there was nothing she could do, she tore her gaze away from him to look out at the view.

The sun was little more than a deep maroon glow on the horizon now. They were running out of time, fast.

"Look." Ahsoka nudged Lux with her shoulder, and he raised his head. "You see that ridge? The Hope is right behind it – it's much closer than I thought. It's gonna hurt, but we'll make it."

"Or you could leave me here and be sure to get there in time."

"We wouldn't be able to come back for you. I would never leave you, Lux. Not if I knew there was still a chance. You know that." Ahsoka tilted her head back to press a kiss into his hair. "It's stupid to talk that way."

By then, they had reached the bottom of the mountain pass, and were back in the middle of the multicolored jungle. Although Ahsoka knew it had to be her imagination, the plants almost seemed more alive than they had been before. The Force hummed and sang around them as it did creatures that were awakening from a very deep sleep, but darted away before she could analyze it further.

I guess the plants are nocturnal. Well, it wouldn't be the first time I've heard of plants drawing their energy from moonlight instead of sunlight.

Ahsoka sighed thoughtfully and turned them down into a wide ditch that appeared to be the remnants of an old riverbed. It would be easier to walk there than try picking their way through the undergrowth, at the mercy of unstable ground and an abundance of things to trip on.

"You're incredible, you know that?" Lux said suddenly, managing a weak smile. "Five minutes ago you were crying in my arms, and now... you're making sure I can walk okay even when your arm has to be killing you."

Ahsoka smiled back, but chose to focus on restricting the pain with the Force instead of coming up with a reply.

Suddenly, her comlink beeped, let out a burst of static, and beeped again. Setting Lux down on a flat stone boulder, she reached over to answer it.

"Oh, thank the gods." That was Janira's voice. "We've been trying to get through to you for ages! Where are you?"

"Sorry about that. Must be atmospheric radiation. We're heading your way. Lux has a broken leg and my shoulder's dislocated, but we're making progress."

Jani winced. "That's really bad, but hurry. You only have twelve minutes l–"

Suddenly, a garble of speech the comm couldn't quite differentiate into words exploded from the speaker, and Ahsoka recognized it vaguely as Kaya Ti's voice.

"What the hell was–"

There was a scuffle of noise on the other end of the line, and Ahsoka got the impression Kaya Ti had just stolen the comm out of Janira's hand. "Ahsoka, you have get out of there, now!"

"Kaya, what are you talking–"

"The plants have teeth!"

Ahsoka's head whipped around to where Lux was sitting. Slowly but surely, a vine was snaking along the ground towards him. And it was covered in barbs that gleamed with what Ahsoka knew in a heartbeat had to be a deadly toxin.

*Aargonar has presented Ahsoka and Lux with one final peril. But any hope they have for escaping with their lives is fading away with the last bit of daylight, and, combined with their injuries, will they truly have enough time to get back to the ship before it's too late? What secrets could now be encoded on the datachip Lux took from the base? Could it be that there was more to the death of his stepfather than he first thought? You'll find out in the next thrilling chapter of The Unchronicled Adventures Of Ahsoka Tano! 

DUN DUN DUUUUUNNNNNN

I love/hate cliffhangers... but hey, at least there are more chapters so it's not as bad :D

I feel like now was a good point in the story to sort of touch on how everyone felt about Steela's death. Obviously Lux and Saw were devastated, but tv shows like TCW aren't really known for focusing on how characters feel about bad experiences after the fact unless they were REALLY IMPORTANT to the storyline. 

I feel like everyone would think they have a reason to blame themselves and think that their involvement is the only reason the person is gone, and I wanted to show that with Ahsoka a little. She and Lux are going to have a follow-up conversation about it in future chapters, so you'll see what I mean.

Anyways, I think I've blabbered on long enough. Let's get on to the next chapter, shall we? >;}