Time's up! (A Clone Wars Fanfic)

Part 34- I can't and I won't

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Time skip: about 6 months
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Melian ran through the Temple, tears falling from her cheeks. What she heard can't possibly be true, can it? She finally saw her Master, though barely since everything was blurry from the tears in her eyes.
"Master! Is-is it true? What they say about Ahsoka?"
"No, no. I mean..." he sighed.
"It's complicated. Ahsoka has been accused of bombing the Temple-"
"But she would never!" Melian interrupted him
"I know. That's why Obi-Wan and Cody went to look for her. They found her in a storage full of nano bombs... and that's exactly what was used to bomb the Temple..." he put his hands on her shoulders
"Master we have to prove she's innocent"
"We will. Padmé is representing Ahsoka in court, and since Obi-Wan has to be at the court, the two of us will go investigate. Ahsoka was seen teaming with Asajj and has repeated multiple times she's being framed. So lets go find out if it was Asajj who framed her or if it was somebody else"
Melian stared into the floor, her heart dropping at the mention of Ahsoka teaming with Asajj. Her best friend, teaming with a person who came to collect hers and Rex's head and almost killed them. It hurt her, but that just meant Ahsoka was so miserable that she had to team with her. Melian filled with hatred, sadness, so many emotions she couldn't even begin to describe.
"Lets go" she said, venom laced in her voice.

The Master and his Padawan walked thru the dirty streets of Coruscant, sensing around the place, looking for her. They both had their cloaks on, Melian's black one fitting perfectly with the dirty and dark scenes of the streets. She looked around in disgust.
"How can people live like this?"
"They don't really have a choice, Melian. It's this or nothing"
"This is nothing" she said under her breath, but Anakin ignored her. He sensed Ventress, and soon, so did Melian. They climbed somewhere higher where they could get a better view of the streets.
"There!" Melian whispered, pointing to a figure in the darkest part of the alley.
"I know Ventress when I see her" her voice filled with venom again.

They jumped down, just a few meters behind Ventress. She immediately stopped, sensed them, knew who they were.
"Anakin Skywalker..." she started, her back still facing them.
"Oh, and if it isn't his little Padawan, Melian" she turned around to look at them.
"Hello to you too" Melian spit out.
"We know you're behind all of this" Anakin said, looking down at the ground.
"Prove it" Ventress jumped up, running away from them. The Master-Padawan duo turned their lightsabers on and followed after her. She was waiting for them, almost in an instant hitting Anakin as soon as he showed up in front of her. But without her lightsabers, she couldn't win this, she was aware of that. Ventress ended up in the corner and did the only thing she could, go higher. Melian was quicker to follow her, but Anakin was right behind. She found herself in the same situation, in a corner, surrounded. Only this time, Anakin pushed her against the wall and grabbed her by her throat.

"Tell me what happened!" he brought her down onto her knees, still grabbing her throat.
"When I heard Obi-Wan's little brat was on the run, I thought she might bring a large bounty" she chocked out.
"Bounty?" Melian asked
"So this is all just about money?!"
Anakin brought his lightsaber to her throat now. Ventress ignored Melian's question.
"I was going to catch his pet and turn her over to authorities, collect whatever bounty was due"
"What stopped you?" Anakin asked, his voice harsh, retracting his lightsaber and letting go of Ventress' throat. Melian's lightsabers were still on. Ventress coughed, took a few deep breaths and started talking again.
"At first, I admit, I was just interested in the money and a little bit of revenge, but then I realized the fallen Padawan and I had a lot in common" she said, turning her backs to them again.
"How dare you compare yourself to Ahsoka?" Melian yelled at her
"It's true" Ventress turned around, getting in Melian's face.
"My Master abandoned me, and that's exactly what Obi-Wan did to her. Not just Obi-Wan, but you, him-" she pointed at Anakin
"-and your precious Jedi Order"
Melian backed away from Ventress, her eyes wide. At first, it seemed as if she was tricking them, trying to move the blame away from herself. But the more she thought about it, it was true. Almost everything was true. Melian never abandoned Ahsoka, even when all evidence gathered proved Ahsoka was guilty.
"You're wrong" she said aloud, though it came as a whisper
"I never abandoned her. I never lost hope. I never once thought she might be guilty. The Jedi Order betrayed her, yes. But I didn't"
Ventress slightly chuckled
"I don't doubt it. But, as far as I am aware, your opinion will do nothing in helping her, so you might as well throw it out the window".