Meet You at the Dark Side

Chapter 26 - Beginning of Chaos

Author's Note: I have no regrets about the massive cliffhanger at the end. :)

~ Amina Gila

Anakin spins around to look at his padawan. Shock and disbelief don't even begin to encompass his emotions. What was she even thinking? Ahsoka gives him a very nonchalant look as the Sith Lord's body falls to the floor, life rapidly disappearing. He tries to ignore the sudden screaming in his mind of how this was his friend, and he should be angry at her. Something in his mind suddenly feels... wrong. Raw, almost, in a way. And oddly empty, like something was there and out of place. He files the thought away for later contemplation, deciding focusing on his completely insane padawan is far more important.

"It was the only way. If I did it without thinking, he wouldn't see it coming."

"You are aware that that was likely caught on camera, right?" Anakin demands incredulously, voice rising slightly, "And when the guards come in here and see this, you'll be held responsible." As much as he hates it, he knows there's nothing he can do. They have to get out of here, and the sooner the better. At least if Ahsoka is safely at the Temple, the Senate shouldn't be able to reach her. That raises the question of what's going to happen afterwards, because they will be demanding Ahsoka be turned over... and her execution.

"I didn't have the time to consider all that," she argues. "If I'd thought about it even a second longer, he would have sensed it. But at least he's dead now."

Anakin glances around the room one last time, some part of him wanting to remember it. This place was – it wasn't home, or anything like that, but it still gave him a place of belonging. A place of being... wanted, except now he knows it was all fake. It still felt real to him. Why can't it be real for everyone?

"Let's get out of here, Ahsoka," he advises firmly, taking her hand and practically pulling her out the door. The faster they move, the better, because the last thing they need is to be arrested right here and now. First thing, Anakin is going to find Obi-Wan, even if he's admittedly terrified of the reaction they will get. Anakin did seemingly commit treason, and both him and Ahsoka could be killed, never mind how much damage it would cause the Order. Obi-Wan is the only person who might have an idea what to do, if anything, and Anakin needs his help right now.

He wants to feel like home. Obi-Wan – his father – is the only person who can offer the feeling of being protected like he so badly needs right now. It feels childish for him to go running to his former master like this, but what else can he do?

Apparently, the Jedi Master reads their half-panicked expressions before they have a chance to say a word. "What did you do now?" he sighs. Any other time, that tone would sting a lot more than it does now, but Anakin actually knows he did something really stupid, worthy of all the yelling in the galaxy, this time.

"Ahsoka may or may not have decided it would be a great idea to kill Sidious." Anakin gets straight to the point.

"She – you did what?!" Obi-Wan cries.

"I didn't do anything!" Anakin protests. "Ahsoka did!"

"What happened?" Obi-Wan demands urgently, turning to his padawan. He doesn't seem angry, just a little freaked out. More than a little, on second thought.

"I had the thought," Ahsoka says, practically squirming, "That I could kill Sidious. He was facing away from me so he'd never know, and I knew it was the only opportunity we might get."

Obi-Wan looks on the verge of launching into a long lecture, but thankfully refrains. "I will go speak to the Council immediately. The word may already be out. Until further notice, Ahsoka better stay in your apartment, Anakin. I don't know how the other Jedi will react. Most of them don't know who Sidious was."