Memories

Chapter 18.

The blast that came from me erupted out like a short but powerful shockwave, sweeping everyone off their feet and smashing into the rickety shed behind me. Asajj, Ahsoka, and the two thugs were all knocked unconscious, and the building started shaking and buckling, looking for all the world like it was about to collapse – which, as it turned out, it was.

I didn't even stick out my hands to prevent its destruction; I just stayed where I lay and focused. The walls froze, and the roof stopped caving in, leaving a cloud of dust as the only proof that it had been falling down in the first place. Then people started flooding out, fleeing the building and getting a safe distance from it. When the last person exited, I released it with an exhausted huff of breath, and it crashed to the ground.

I lay still, utterly shattered, my whole body shaking from my recent exertions. That blast had almost completely wiped me out, then holding up the building had finished the job. I had no strength left.

By the time the dust and sand settled, Asajj was starting to get up. She must have been furthest away from the blast. She got to her feet unsteadily and looked at the devastation around her, then smirked. "You know what, Skywalker? You'd make a great Sith." Then, with a swish of her cloak, she was gone.

I lay on my back, staring at the blue sky, feeling dizzy and totally spent. The suns beat down relentlessly, but I had no energy to move out of them. My main concern was Ahsoka. After a minute or two, I somehow dragged myself over to her, every muscle shaking and protesting the effort. She was still unconscious, lying on her side with her twin sabers next to her.

Gently running my hand down her arm, I sighed. "I'm sorry, Snips. I didn't mean to hurt you. I was only trying to help." I placed my hand against her forehead, pursing my lips when I felt the heat from her. I needed to get her out of these suns.

I glanced around, half-hoping Obi-Wan might have appeared, but my only company was the pair of still-unconscious thugs and those of the few remaining scum who had fled the collapsing shed. Both my and Ahsoka's comms had been damaged in the blast, so I couldn't even contact Obi-Wan.

"Ahsoka," I called her name softly, but she didn't stir. I sat back on my knees, wondering how long it would take for my strength to return. It occurred to me briefly that sleeping might do me some good. But I could feel myself slowly getting stronger, so I carefully slid one hand under Ahsoka's shoulder blades and the other under her knees. Taking a breath, I stood up cautiously, swaying slightly, feeling the strain of Ahsoka's weight against my arms. The girl wasn't heavy, but I was having trouble, nonetheless. I didn't have the willpower to decide whether that made me weak or not.

My steps were slow and shaky but consistent. Almost without noticing the path I took, I made it back to our ship, where I gently laid Ahsoka, then collapsed beside her. My heart was racing, head spinning, and breathing rapid and irregular. But I was alive. And so was Ahsoka. That was what mattered to me.

I must have fallen asleep because it felt like no time at all before Ahsoka was shaking my shoulder and talking to me. Anxiety was tainting her voice.

"Master? Master, are you alright?"

Blinking heavily at her, I tried to form a useful sentence but didn't really succeed.

"Ahsoka! Anakin!" the relieved voice of Obi-Wan interrupted us, and I glanced across to see my friend nearly running up the ramp. "You're okay! What happened?" He dropped to his knees beside us, putting one hand on Ahsoka's shoulder, the other on my leg as his blue eyes darted between us.

Ahsoka stared back at Obi-Wan with big eyes, tears of worry filling them. "I-I don't know. We ... I was fighting Asajj and there were these thugs and Anakin was there and it was looking bad and I was started to get nervous and-and then something exploded."