#half fic

rewatching s4 and it’s incredible how many times during ahsoka’s padawanship she witnesses anakin toe the line of vengefulness and hauls him back from it. what if she was there to intervene? “he was too dangerous to keep alive” wasn’t something anakin bought, and i highly doubt ahsoka “morality” tano would be down for it either. she’s inadvertently become his conscience; his desire to protect her rivals his desire to give in to the darkness surrounding him. anakin has dooku on his knees, but as soon as he sees ahsoka’s alarmed face, he backs away, ashamed and confused and angry with himself. ahsoka saves him by knocking dooku out cold, and as they take palps and obi-wan to safety there’s a moment where they both know we should talk about this but they don’t.

what if ahsoka was able to talk to anakin after he’d been appointed to spy on palps? “the council isn’t always right anakin, obviously, why do you think i left?” and he’s like “i KNOW that” and she’s like “yeah but palpatine also lowkey sucks because he was going to kill me? like genuine kill me if you didn’t interrupt?” and anakin is like oh my GOD why cant any mentor in my life not suck for two seconds. i want my wife. oh wait shes gonna fucking DIE and he finally, finally, spills his fears out to ahsoka. who’s like “wow tb to that time i thought padme was gonna die. it’s a good thing the future isn’t set in stone, am i right?” and then doesn’t quite know what to do when anakin starts crying tears of relief.

when anakin says “ahsoka, there’s trouble in palpatine’s office” she runs in by his side, shocked to see master windu with his lightsaber at palps’ neck but even more shocked to see palps with a lightsaber of his own. “he’s too dangerous to keep alive” windu says, and ahsoka sees anakin’s face screw up in confusion, like where have i heard this before? anakin moves as if to help - who? - and she moves with him and the Force sends windu and palpatine flying apart from each other.

“what,” anakin roars, lightsaber igniting, “is going on here?” ahsoka follows suit, pointing her shoto at palpatine’s saber, “where did you get that?”

palpatine smiles at her. “child--”

“don’t patronize me,” she hisses. 

“ahsoka,” anakin starts, as windu gets to his feet and points at the chancellor.

“that, he says, “is not the man we believed him to be. chancellor palpatine is--”

“a sith,” anakin says quietly. he’s looking at his friend like his heart is breaking out of his chest. “you are, aren’t you? that’s why you told me to kill dooku.”

“anakin, my boy--”

“you were using me,” anakin says. he is silent a long while, and no one moves. “you...what you told me about saving padme, was that a lie?”

palpatine frowns. “anakin--”

“was that,” anakin says, and the room shakes, “a lie.”

“i promised you power,” palpatine finally says. “immense power. unfathomable power.”

anakin’s eyes widen as realization hits, and he staggers back. ahsoka steps in front of him immediately; she will defend him with her life, and until he recovers from whatever lies he’s been fed by the chancellor, she will do whatever it takes to keep him safe. it’s not surprising that hates starts to manifest within her -- ahsoka carries one hell of a grudge against that had not only nearly sentenced her to death, but has threaten 2 of the people she considers family in this world. jedi aren’t killers, but luckily for her master, she’s no longer a jedi.

when anakin’s lightsaber ignites, there is a level of fury hanging within the Force that is practically palpable. windu has to feel it, as his stance wavers for a moment as he spares a look at anakin, and palpatine screams as he throws out his hand and force lightning shocks the fuck out of the jedi master.

or at least, that’s what he tries to do. what actually happens is that in the time it takes for the lightning to cross the room, and anakin as leapt forward and ahsoka is right behind him.

it is the longest battle of her life. she thinks it might be the final battle of her life. her master is unrecognizable in his fury, in his pain, and the way he fights is unrelenting and erratic, a combination that difficult to fight alongside. she has to dodge his errant swings on top of palpatine’s, staying on her toes as he flings them about the room with the Force like toys. but it’s a foreseen outcome.

during a beat of the battle, palpatine reaches out to anakin and anakin reaches back and there’s a beat of silence before the Force implodes the room; the window shatters and ahsoka raises her arms to deflect the glass. the chancellor jumps free and she has only a moment to think before anakin makes to jump after him; she throws her arms around him, only half-terrified that he might be too angry to fully recognize her

but her fear was for nothing. anakin’s chest rattles as he breathes. he breathes. he keeps breathing

and at last, he puts his arms around her, and they breathe, together.

for the first time in a long while, anakin skywalker remembers that he is not alone.