The Unchronicled Adventures of Ahsoka Tano, Book Eight

Chapter Sixty: Descent... Or Ascension?

AHSOKA TANO

We will wait until she has gone too far into the mists of delusion to realize what is happening to her, Shima. Then, the time will come to strike, and bring the New Jedi Order to its knees.

Yes, Master. I look forward to her downfall.

Ahsoka awoke from her medically induced slumber with the strange, distant voices of the two speakers ringing in her ears. She tried to sit up, but realized that there were several bands keeping her from doing that. She pulled at the one holding down her right arm, and wondered why it wouldn't come.

She wondered what she was doing here in the first place.

"I'm not sick," she whispered whimsically, her blue eyes wide. "I'm not hurt... So I shouldn't be in here!"

She sat up as much as the restraining bands would allow. "And if I shouldn't be in here..." She reached for the controls to the bands using the Force, turning the locking mechanism off. "Then I have to get out!"

Ahsoka plucked the variety of cords and tubes she was attached to off, then stood up. She took a few unsteady steps forward, but fell down. She giggled, standing up again.

Suddenly, with a shimmer, Lux Bonteri materialized in front of her. She smiled a big smile, wrapping her arms around his leg. "I knew you weren't gone," she said. "I knew you would come back for me."

"Of course I would," he said, picking her up in his arms and sitting down on the bed with her in his lap. But she couldn't help but notice that his voice sounded strange... like it wasn't his.

"Your voice sounds funny," she said, touching his lips.

Had she been coherent and capable of recognizing the voice, she would have realized the extent of the danger she was in. She would have noticed the slight change in who she thought was Lux's expression at her comment. But she was completely out of it, and couldn't follow her thoughts to a conclusion.

Then, the smooth tone that she had always associated with him came back. "This better, love?" he asked, stroking her cheek.

"Mmh-hmm," she said. He smiled, but there was something off about it. Ahsoka was confused, but didn't act on her lack of understanding.

Then he leaned in, touching his nose to hers. She sighed, her arms coiling around his neck. Then, with loving softness, he pressed his lips to hers. She relaxed into their steady rhythm of kisses, deepening the contact with each and every one.

And suddenly, with her half-conscious mind, she felt something. A sort of dark energy, originating from Lux. But she wasn't afraid of it. Instead, she welcomed it. It buoyed her spirits, made her feel alive. She wondered why she had never trusted the Dark Side before.

And then, he vanished from her arms reappearing a few feet away. Vaguely, she pondered how he had done it.

His eyes were yellow rimmed with red instead of blue-grey, but somehow, it suited him. Her gaze wandered over to a shiny medical instrument next to her, in which she could see her reflection. Her eyes were the same color, and her veins were, oddly enough, darker and more pronounced with the strange energy.

She looked up at Lux, and giggled again, before she felt a wave of pure, dark clarity comb through her mind, removing any traces of the fog that her mind had been wrapped in.

"Come with me," he said, and held out a hand. "Together, we can rule the galaxy! Make things the way we want them to be! You will be my Dark Empress..."

"And I... I will have power. I will be Darth Sorena."

Suddenly, as she reached out to take his hand, she remembered something. It a message that had come to her in a dream, so long ago – nearly four years – that she almost didn't remember it. She had heard the same words spoken in the vision, seen what death that she and who she had thought was Lux had caused to become all-powerful. The Emperor and Empress, seated on their gilded thrones of blood and pain and malice and evil...

"No..." she whispered.

"Wha... What?" Lux said, offering her his hand again, this time with a sense of urgency. "Ahsoka, you have to trust me!"

"No," she said, louder this time. "You're not Lux."

His voice lowered to a hiss. "What did you say?"

"You're. Not. Lux!"

And suddenly, she realized what she had notice about his voice earlier. It was strange: cool, soft, and menacing. It was dark and powerful beyond belief, and most certainly did not belong to the likes of Lux Bonteri.

Maul.

*Ahsoka has discovered the full extent of Maul's treachery. But is it too late, for her and Lux both? Has she fallen too far to the Dark Side to come back to the Light? And how has the Sith Lord managed to keep Lux alive... if he even is alive at all? You'll find out in the next thrilling chapter of The Unchronicled Adventures Of Ahsoka Tano!

Heyyyyy guys! Hope you liked this latest chapter, and I'll post another one soon! And now, you see what I've been working towards for practically THE LAST TWO BOOKS!! *claps hands together* I'm so EXCITED!!!

So anyways, another update is coming soon, so... Bye!

Discover your true potential as a Jedi Knight and may the Force be with you,

Sharron