Signature Bonds - Star Wars TCW

Chapter 39

(Continuation of Season 3, Episode 21, and first and only part of Season 3, Episode 22)

"I can't believe my luck," a reptilian alien rasped, a nasty grin on his face as he looked down at the togruta laying at his feet. "A Jedi youngling."

He reached down to grab her arm, hauling Ahsoka away roughly, paying no mind to the scrapes he was leaving on the Jedi's body - scrapes that Anakin would know to be injuries from his bond mate. 

---

Anakin and Plo-Koon stormed the outpost, cutting down droids and blocking bolts of energy with every swing of their glowing sabres. Soon enough there were no more droids in the vicinity, instead Republic soldiers took their places in the center.

"The outpost is secure. Good job, Corporal." He paused for a moment, looking around, and worry overcame his features. "Where's Commander Tano?"

"She was covering our flank while we scaled the wall," the Corporal responded, watching as the General's eyes widened in a panic that he was trying to hide from view.

"Everybody fan out! I want a perimeter sweep now!" Anakin commanded, a jolt of pain running through him, before suddenly fading. He sucked in a breath, calling out to Ahsoka through his bond with her, getting no response, and turning to his comm link worriedly. 

"Ahsoka, state your position." There was no response from his little togruta, only little white scrapes appearing on his skin before fading away. "Ahsoka, come in. Are you there? Can you hear me?"

He felt a faint hum of wakefulness from her end of the bond, which reassured him a little. It was the sudden wave of panic that really worried him, and he suddenly lost all of the little shreds of composure he had left.

"Ahsoka! AHSOKA!"

Then the comm went dead. Completely dead.

Anakin growled in anger and worry, feeling the bond and holding on tight to the strand that linked him to Ahsoka. All he really wanted to do was hug her, hold her tight and never, ever let go. It always irked the bond whenever they were apart for too long, but this time they had barely been apart for a few hours, and he knew it wasn't just the bond. He really was worried about her.

Anakin?

The Jedi knight jumped a little before smiling in relief and responding to the padawan.

Ahsoka! Where are you? Are you okay?

I... I don't know. Some pirates called Trandoshans caught me - well, stunned, actually - and a whole bunch of others. They're going to be hunting us down for sport. 

Anakin's heart stilled, and he stopped breathing for a second. Ahsoka was going to be hunted like an animal.

Suddenly, Ahsoka seemed to be loosing concentration, fading away from his being.

We're landing now, Skyg-

Snips? AHSOKA!

---

The transport lurched to a stop, the whole ship shaking with the sudden change in motion. Ahsoka jumped to her feet, her stance ready for battle, only to fall out of her cage through the floor. She landed on her feet, dusting her front off a little, and peering up at the transport she just fell from wearily. 

Above the game (Ahsoka figured that's what they had become) guns came out of the protective armor of the ship. Sharpening her senses, Ahsoka watched as the blasts of energy came rained down. An alien next to her was gunned down, and she moved quickly away, the force aiding her movements as she fled into the briar forest, the guns only following her for a short time before being stopped by the foliage.

The next day, having met a few of her fellow abductees who were former Jedi younglings, Ahsoka was on the run again. The trandoshans had only let up for a few hours, and Ahsoka was running with the youngling named Kalifa, while Jinx and O-Mer were going a separate way. It was only after Kalifa was gunned down that she realized how badly she wanted to get back home, to the temple. O-mer and Jinx had been there forever, and Kalifa now would never ever get to go back and see her home.

Anakin hadn't been able to find Ahsoka yet either, and he had been forced to call off the searches for her. It really hurt to be alone, but Plo-Koon was confident that the togruta would be fine.

After watching Kalifa get killed, Ahsoka had to see another death- this one a trandoshan. He had died during battle with Ahsoka herself, but she hadn't been the killer. Instead, a stalagmite had killed him as he fell on it, leaving Ahsoka to run to find the other two remaining younglings. 

Telling them about Kalifa's demise had been hard, but when she finally was going home, going to get away from all of this hunting, she had to witness another death.

And this time, she was the killer.

A force-push to the lower deck was all it took to murder the trandoshan, leaving her comrades, Chewbacca, O'Mer, and Jinx, safe to get to the temple. And she hadn't felt anything but cold.

---

"Ahsoka!"

When she sensed her master and bond mate's presence, her baby-blue eyes had widened happily, and she politely excused herself from conversation with a wookie before bounding over to Anakin and wrapping her arms around his chest. He sighed in relief, and then held her by the shoulders to look over her.

"I'm so sorry," were the first words out of his mouth, sorrow filling his eyes and covering his face as he said them. She looked up at him, a little bit of confusion on her face as she answered.

"For what?"

"For letting you go, for letting you get taken. It was my fault." His eyes closed tight in upset, disappointed in himself as his fingers brushed over her shoulders, taking comfort in the fact that she was back with him.

"No, master, it wasn't your fault," Ahsoka responded comfortingly, shaking her head.

"If I had tried harder, if I had paid more attention-"

"I know you did everything you could. Everything you had to do," she started, trailing off and looking away slightly. "When I was out there, alone, all I had was your training and the lessons you taught me. And because of you... I did survive. And not only that, I was able to lead others to survive as well." It was all silent for a few beats before Anakin responded in a small, bewildered tone.

"I don't know what to say."

"I do." She stepped back a little before bowing her head, hands pressed together in front of her chest. "Thank you, master." It took a few moments for him to answer, but when he did, she felt a happy sort of flutter in her chest.

"You're welcome," he bowed back to her, a fond sort of pride in his voice. "Padawan."

She beamed up at him, and he grinned down at her before grabbing her arm and leading her back to their shared quarters.

"You need a bath, Snips."

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Boom. Long chapter. Hello, guys! It's been about a week, but I HAVE UPDATED! :D

Thanks for reading this, guys, it means a lot to me. :)

-FlamingStarbird