The Unchronicled Adventures Of Ahsoka Tano, Book Ten

Chapter One Hundred And Thirteen: Chapters Closing

Master and Padawan held the saber lock for but a moment before Ahsoka threw herself back to the side and swatted at him with a series of quick blows Vader had to hurry to counter.

She needed to draw him as far away from the walls keeping them in as possible in case he tried to go after the holocron, and, consecutively, Ezra and Kanan. She doubted he would want to return to Sidious without it, but maybe she would be enough incentive to keep him here long enough for the two Jedi to escape. And in doing that, perhaps she would also be able to talk some sense into him.

She knew that was something she should have done a long time ago; from Coruscant to Valunn, she had had more chances to do so than anybody.

However, staying presented its own dangers. Being here at the summit of the Temple was like standing on the rim of a volcano about to erupt; already she could feel the pressure building in her lekku from power resevoirs buckling under the strain. Now, it was only a matter of time before the whole thing was blown to bits.

But they still fought on, crossing blades again and again in hopes of wearing one another down enough to gain an advantage. This was the final battle, and they both knew only one could emerge the victor.

Having her memories returned to her made her twice the fighter, with years more of experience and study in battle tactics to look back on as needed. She was whole again, and whole, she came far closer to matching the skill even of the man who had been the fabled Chosen One in another life.

Kaylira had been wrong. Ahsoka knew how to put herself past her pain, whether it was emotional or physical – and she was keeping both at bay now. Instead of breaking her, creating the trigger to unlock her past had allowed Ahsoka to put a stop to her slow decline into grief; to become far stronger than she ever could have otherwise. And perhaps, if the Force was with her, that would be enough.

Ahsoka and Vader dodged to the side as the repulsorlifts keeping the obelisk aloft suddenly gave out, sending it crashing to the ground. It shattered on impact, and pieces of dark stone scattered in all directions. Ahsoka threw up a small Force shield to repel the worst of it, but soon she realized it would not be enough to protect her: the Temple had finally reached its breaking point.

She leapt back and flattened herself into the far corner of the pyramidion just as a twisting ball of violet energy so bright it made her see spots shot up from the depths of the Temple, pushing through rock and stone much as magma did through its parent rock.

The explosion of light and pure plasma that followed sent enormous pieces of the ceiling above raining down from above, and Ahsoka reached up to cover her head, pulling herself further into her temporary place of refuge.

Soon, the ringing in her lekku began to fade, and, fighting back an unexpected wave of dizziness, Ahsoka spent a few moments trying to catch her breath and coax her eyes clenched shut to open. But then, she felt a chokehold tighten around her throat, and was knew that hesitating like that was about to cost her very dearly.

Vader dragged her out into the open and used the Force to pull her up until her feet no longer touched the ground. Ahsoka's fingers clawed uat her throat and her chest rose and fell in a desperate search for air, but she knew none would come unless she found the strength to act. If only she hadn't dropped her lightsabers...!

"A–Anakin, please... listen to me," she choked out. "This... isn't you!"

"I am not Anakin," he said, and in his own voice instead of the one most knew as Vader's, the statement was all the more terrible. "Your attempts to address me as such show a weakness of character I would not have expected from you."

That was when Ahsoka sensed something... peculiar. It prodded the back of her mind with the singular intensity of a bad headache, and when she gave into it, she suddenly found herself able to see through their bond into his mind with a clarity they had never had during the Clone Wars.