Shadows of Tomorrow

Chapter 33 - Deception

Theseus feels strangely numb as he lands in the hanger. The enormity of the past couple days will take a while to catch up to him. He's still dressed in his armor when the ramp lowers and he and BD disembark; he didn't have his Jedi robes with him anymore. It's fine; he has plenty here. He'd tried to contact Obi-Wan but couldn't get through, likely because his master is on a mission or something, so he'd left his message with his mother.

Theseus's blood runs cold when he sees one lone figure waiting for him. Where are Anakin and Obi-Wan? They should be here, unless they're on a mission, but the lost and confused look Ahsoka bears, not to mention the tear-streaked face that she isn't even making an effort to hide, is proof something is very, very wrong.

His worry overtakes all his other thoughts. "Ahsoka, it's good to see you again," Theseus greets her in a rush. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"Theseus," she chokes out, flinging her arms around his neck and clinging to him.

This blatant display of affection catches him off-guard, but he returns it just as fiercely. It's been far too long. "Where's Anakin?" he asks.

"He – he's –" she trails off, drawing in a shaky breath through her tears. "Master Obi-Wan..." She chokes back a sob and breaks down into tears again.

"What happened?" he asks, dread pooling inside of him. What could have happened that would make Ahsoka be acting like this?

"I'm sorry," she manages to say finally, "I wasn't fast enough. We weren't fast enough."

He knows. He knows, but he can't understand, accept... because he expected to come back, and everyone would be fine, and everything would go back to normal, but – but... But how could something like this have happened? How could Obi-Wan – It feels too unreal. Like he's going to wake up out of a nightmare, or someone will tell him that this is all some sort of mistake. Or maybe that he's misunderstanding what Ahsoka's saying altogether, but he knows he's not, even if he doesn't want to believe it.

"The funeral is within the hour," adds Ahsoka.

"I should get ready," Theseus murmurs shakily, hardly able to believe this is happening. Maybe it'll sink in tomorrow, after a sleepless night, or maybe – maybe it never well. All this feels unreal.

***

He's still in too much shock to actually feel much of anything. How could Obi-Wan be gone like that? He was half-expecting him to walk up the entire time he was briefly at their apartment before heading to where the funeral is being held. He's missed his presence so, so much, and he can't accept or understand that he'll never feel it again.

He feels totally numb as he stares at the coffin.

Anakin is there too, finally, face mostly concealed by his hood. Theseus moves to stand next to him. He's glad to finally see him again, but it's all overshadowed by what's going on. He needs to talk to Anakin, once this is over, but right now, Theseus struggles to let himself think about... whatever it is you're supposed to when commemorating someone. Something must be wrong with him, because even his thoughts feel like they're swimming through something incredibly thick and not working properly. He must have gone into shock.

The only thoughts that really stick out to him is how he shouldn't have to be seeing this. Theseus has seen many people die before. He's even seen Ahsoka die, but never has he been to the actual funeral of someone so close to him. He never thought Obi-Wan would die, never considered what would happen if he did.

He... in many ways, he was like Theseus's father, the one he never really had. At the very least, he should've been able to complete Theseus's training. He shouldn't have... He shouldn't be gone. He was supposed to be here. The worst part is that Obi-Wan didn't just... die. He would have lived for a good several more decades, but he's gone. He was... killed.