Mishaps on Malachor

Chapter 7 - Old Friends Not Forgotten

Hi! :D After watching the OWK series I finally came back to finish this. ^-^ Sorry for the long wait, but at least I have some idea what I'm doing with Vaderkin and Obi-Wan's conversation. xD

Anyways, this chapter has been re-edited, so please reread it. :)

~ Rivana Rita

Ahsoka isn't really sure how they managed to convince Anakin of this, but somehow, they ended up leaving the next morning. So now they're here. She isn't sure whether she should be scared or excited that she's going to meet one of her old friends again, one who she was so certain was dead for fifteen years. But she has no idea how he acts now, how everything that happened has affected him. She knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that he would have felt it when Anakin Fell, and knows of his fate. He's not going to be the person she used to know, and she has no idea how he's going to react to seeing her. He'll be glad, right?

She has no idea.

All she could think about the last time they meant was the terms they parted on, and now, years later, she really feels bad that they literally fought the entire time there, and most of all, that Anakin was caught in the middle of it. If not for that... maybe everything would have gone differently, but the past is the past.

And none of her daydreams help with the present, because she has no idea how to act, and the unbearable nervousness coursing through her is only increasing as Hera lands the ship.

She can only hope Obi-Wan might be able to provide some insight on what to do about Anakin. Something is wrong and she doesn't know what, but Obi-Wan should know what to do. He always has.

Ahsoka's gaze wanders to where Anakin is seated next to Rex, backed up as far as he can against the seat. He looks so young, so vulnerable like that. He's scared. She can feel it, but she doesn't know why. She highly suspects the only reason he isn't panicking is since Rex and Sabine have been having a far too animated conversation – about blasters of all things – that she doesn't care to listen to. Or at least that's how it started. Mandalorians.

After a moment of thought, she makes her way over to him and climbs up next to him. He glances over at her, expression unreadable, but remains silent. "You don't have to go out there," she reminds. "I can handle this and tell you what we figured out."

"If you figure anything out," he replies dully.

"Can't we at least try to be a little more optimistic about this?" grumbles Kanan.

"No."

Ahsoka tries to maintain some semblance of calm as she, Kanan, and Ezra leave the ship. She has no idea how Obi-Wan will react to seeing them. Especially since they're literally... little children again.

And what she really isn't expecting is that he's waiting for them. He looks so... so... old. "Ahsoka?" At least he sounds the same.

The question of how he knew they were coming die on her lips, and she's suddenly struck by the realization of exactly how long it's been since she's last seen him. Without a second thought, she sprints up the sand hill and throws herself into his arms. He catches her awkwardly but doesn't pull away, so she takes it as a plus.

He feels so different in the Force. So much... darker. After what happened, it's not a surprise, but that doesn't mean it's easy to see him like this. "How'd you know we were coming?" she asks finally.

"I felt the disturbance. I sensed you."

Ahsoka pulls back, mildly annoyed she's so much smaller than him again. "Do you know what to do?"

"Why don't you start from the beginning?"

So, she does. Right back at the very start. Despite her better judgment, she starts talking. "We were being hunted by Inquisitors and we decided to take the fight to them, which led us to Malachor and to Vader. We were fighting and then we started fighting over a Sith holocron and the next thing I know, I ended up like this." She waves her hands at herself. "And we were all tiny and Ezra and Kanan left, and I pulled Anakin out of that nightmare machine.