A Gray Jedi's Legacy ~ A SWCW's Story

Chapter 7 ~ A Change of Heart

Happy revenge of the fifth!

I've got this chapter to post today, and hopefully another tomorrow. I'm not sure though, because I need to get another chapter up on Ahsoka Tano: The Chosen One, so we'll see what pans out.

BTW, I'm so shocked by how many views I'm getting! I didn't think that many people would like this story, but apparently I was wrong! So, thank you to all of my loyal readers!

Ahsoka gasped as a blinding light swirled around her, making her dizzy beyond extent. She tried to raise her hand up to feel something, but she was met with nothing but emptiness.

    "Daughter?" She called in alarm. The white was not getting any more dim, so she was forced to shut her eyes and try to block it out before it impaired her vision. To her relief, her surrounding soon began to return to normal and she felt solid ground beneath her.

    "Thank the Force," Ahsoka muttered as she pried her eyelids open. However, she was met with a shocking revelation of the room being wildly different than it was a minute ago.

    After a few more seconds of adjusting, she finally noticed that she was standing in an abandoned room in the Halls of Healing. Suddenly, she felt a presence behind her, and spun around to meet Barriss. She looked like she had seen a ghost: her green face had grown deathly pale and her eyes were bulging out of their sockets.

    "Ahsoka...?" Barriss finally questioned, her voice raspy and quiet from her shock.

    "That'd be me," Ahsoka joked as she unconsciously reached down to pat her tunic into place. However, a small squeak escaped her lips as her hand just slid through her body, which she realized to be slightly hazy. Barriss' eyebrows raised in confusion and amusement, "Sorry, it's my first time doing this."

    A long pause followed as the mirilian tried to gain her bearings, then she finally asked, "What are you even doing? How are you here?

    Ahsoka chuckled before replying, "A long story for another time. Right now though, this is about you."

    "Me?"

    Ahsoka took a second to study Barriss for the first time since she had arrived. The Jedi Padawan had changed a little bit since the last time she had seen each other. The girl had matured in the face, though Ahsoka felt like it wasn't for good reasons. Barriss had the face of a woman who had seen too much in her life.

    "Yeah. I'm your friend Barriss, so I've come here to be with you and help you with what you're going through. Friends shouldn't abandon each other, and I believe have."

    Without warning, Barriss mental state crumbled and tears began to form in the corner of her eyes. She took in a ragged breath before saying, "Nobody knows what has been eating me alive for what feels like the longest time. It isn't your fault Ahsoka; everyone else has left me stranded to my thoughts as well.

    All Ahsoka could muster herself to do was to walk to her broken friend's side and rest a ghosty hand on her shoulder. While she knew the most Barriss could probably feel was a cool breeze, she hoped her mere presence would soothe the girl.

    "You're afraid," Ahsoka finally whispered calmly.

    "Of the pain?"

    Ahsoka took a second to search the mirilian's thoughts. While Barriss tried to blockade her mind from Ahsoka, her efforts were futile and the Togruta easily slipped in. "For the Republic."

    Barriss took a shaky breath before returning, "Our democracy is falling right before our eyes, yet nobody is noticing. And the more gut-wrenching truth is that it is because of the..." she suddenly hushed her voice, as though she couldn't tell Ahsoka what she was about to say.