The Unchronicled Adventures Of Ahsoka Tano, Book Ten

Chapter One Hundred And Twelve: Not This Time

AHSOKA TANO

Pain.

It stretched out from her chest with red hot fingers, tightening around her lungs and making Ahsoka groan and curl tighter around herself. But that only seemed to make it worse, and so she lay back on her side again a moment later.

Slowly, reality came floating back to her, and she began to remember what had happened and take in more of her surroundings. Kanan blind, Ezra's lightsaber destroyed, the Inquisitors dead, Vader still at large, the Temple collapsing...

The Temple collapsing?

With difficulty, Ahsoka managed to pull herself into a sitting position, turning to gaze up at the shocks of lightning that were shooting out from the apex of the Temple even more chaotically than before. What had up until recently been an ominous hum at the back of her lekku as its inner mechanisms worked had spiked into a dull screech, and Ahsoka wished more than anything she could shut it out.

She put a hand to her mouth to stifle a cough, and winced as the sharp tang of copper washed her tastebuds. She began to check her body for injuries that could have caused it, but soon realized it wasn't necessary: she had seen this all before.

She remembered falling down into the pit into the very depths of IronFist, where there was no light, no air, and no warmth – just the same suffocating blackness Ahsoka felt drawing nearer every time she closed her eyes, and the same explosion of pain from two broken ribs. Then she was tearing energy out of the very air around her to attack the Sith Lord who had dared to hold her Padawan hostage, who had dared to hurt her...

The memories kept coming back to her faster and faster until she could hardly keep up with them: Ahsoka tortured by evil Dark Side magic, her babies crying for their mother, her duel against Bane, Kaylira striking the final blow and swearing she would have her revenge when Ahsoka was force to turn on her...

Kaylira swearing she would have her revenge.

And suddenly, Ahsoka remembered. She remembered everything. And the scream of agony trying to force its way up her throat was caused not by the pain from her old wounds reopening, but the sheer force of all that been lost to her suddenly rushing back again.

Padme was alive. Anakin had been dragged back from the depths of the Cosmic Force, where Vader had locked him away to keep him from interfering.

Ahsoka had been there on Coruscant when the Jedi fell; she hadn't found Zaydn and the others after the fact. She had gone off on a quest to find Mace Windu, and had been successful, though he was gone off on a quest of his own now.

Ahsoka fell to her knees, shivering as her sudden clairvoyance made her entire body crackle with an energy almost like lightning. All of a sudden she felt like she was going to be sick, and as her strength failed her again she was pulled almost completely back into unconsciousness.

After a long moment, she managed to summon the strength to pull herself to her feet. And even though the ground swam before her and beneath her armor her tunic was growing damp with blood, she felt stronger, more complete than she had in what felt like years.

She had gone on the search for her lightsabers and to make peace with the past. She had felt the disturbance in the Force and sought to prevent it from coming to fruition. She had been there when the Empire rose and the Jedi fell. She had embarked on the journey that brought her and Lux back together and a piece of her life as a Jedi back. She had died to complete her training and become a Jedi Master, and come back thanks to the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy.