A Parallel Universe

Part 4: "all things soft and beautiful and bright would be buried with her."

AN:
Thank-you for commenting and voting on the last chapter: your kind words do not go unnoticed. :)

The edit above was made by me!

Huge apologies for not updating: I know you guys get frustrated when authors don't update, I do too. But unfortunately, I am unable to control things that happen in my personal life.

I originally planned on this story having Ahsoka and Anakin become romantically involved and you guys seem to want that, judging by last part's comments. We've got some serious Ahsoka-Anakin bonding in this chapter! ;) Hope you enjoy!
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The battle droid held a glimmering purple electro-staff. The duel between Ahsoka and her battle droid had come to a stalemate, with the droid slightly achieving the upper-hand. It had been programmed to simulate Anakin, something that wasn't difficult for Ahsoka having trained with her former Master: she knew the majority of his tactics inside out, which aided her immensely. Ahsoka had trained tirelessly for months on the desolate outer-rim world of Lurin, slaving to be able to challenge Vader upon their imminent meeting. She had trudged through the many failures, de-motivation and frustration. Ahsoka disliked the slow progress, but she was undeniably curious about what would happen when she saw Anakin again. 

Much had changed over the months Ahsoka had retired to Lurin: the rebels' forces had doubled, Anakin had overthrown the Emporer and an old force signature had been haunting Ahsoka since the Emporer's demise. However, the reasoning behind Padmé's absence in Leia's life eluded Ahsoka. She feared the worst but could not force herself to give up hope completely. She needed answers. Ahsoka's thoughts honed in on the battle at hand. She spotted a weakness in the droid's stance; it had given Ahsoka a chance to finally defeat it. She stopped blocking the droid's staff with her two lightsabers and gracefully glided through its legs, flipped, and held her lightsabers in a cross formation at the droid's back, threatening to cut it in half. It turned around to face her and deactivated its staff- waiting to be turned off.

"Sorry, Tinikin," she uttered with a smirk before tip-toeing to reach to the back of the droid's neck and turn it off- the droid's specifications matched Anakin's body too and she was shorter than the Sith Lord.

Ahsoka sat down on a bench in her small hut. Lurin was somewhat off the Empire's radar, but the people were certainly intrusive. Ahsoka was extremely careful to be vague when conversing with the locals; she couldn't afford to compromise her location, and she wasn't about to make a mistake where the consequences could be the most severe. She was especially wary after she reconnected with an old force signature. It had only been for a few seconds, but she knew something was off. Something was different. Something was wrong. She knew that whoever she had connected with was close but the only planet nearby was Tatooine, and she had no business on that desolate rock. 

Ahsoka had tried to keep in contact with Bail and she took extreme precautions to do so. He had told her of the Rebellion's growing numbers and it filled her with joy- knowing that there was still hope for the galaxy. And a broken man named Darth Vader.

Ahsoka was brought back to reality and the distressed shriek finally registered with Ahsoka. She wasted no time and hurtled out of the hut's door. The shouting man didn't stop, however, his message was incoherent to Ahsoka. She didn't need to hear his message to know what it was he was screaming about. An immense Imperial star-destroyer loomed overhead, casting a shadow down on the small population of Lurin. There was no doubt about it- they had some for Ahsoka. It only dawned on Ahsoka when it was too late: she had endangered the people of Lurin. She seemed to do things without properly considering them more often than she would like to admit. Ahsoka let the guilt of a past life wash over her. She had sentenced the people of Lurin to slavery, death or worse, neverending torture. However, there was one last option. It was not ideal, but it would surely keep the inhabitants safe. Ahsoka could not let them get hurt because of her.