Sorry for the wait guys. You know when you're trying to write but the words just aren't coming. Yeah, I had that problem. Then I went to see a band which totally trashed me. I love socialising but it drains me. But yeah, REAL SORRY if the writing ain't that great in this chapter.

Don't own Star Wars, etc. etc.

Apologies for grammar or spelling issues. Thanks to all those reading, favouriting, following and commenting!

~o0o~

Old Ben Kenobi left the ship still feeling queasy in the stomach.

He offered the captain a gracious smile but sent an unimpressed glare to the pilot. Then he moved on. The sky was dismal and the streets were putting their all to compete with it. Everything smelt in such a way that reminded Ben of a mission long ago with a Duchess, a tiny closet and alcohol-fuelled bar, but amplified to such a degree it made his eyes water. It made him long for the dry scentless lands of Tatooine and the comfort of watching a carefree boy running along the sandy horizon. It made him long for the days as a Padawan where the fragrance of his master's potted plants soothed his anxiety as soon as walked through the door.

Ben made a turn and wrapped the cloak around his tighter. Those days were long, long gone and only those containing miserable memories were making the effort to catch up to him.

~o0o~

"Don't you have something to tell me?"

The key hovered before the lock. "…I don't know what you–"

"–You know exactly what I mean," she interrupted. "What's happened?"

He faces his associate. Only the barest hint of her was visible underneath the sweeping brown cloak. A generous offering in comparison to the shadows and distorted voices messaging him over the course of their dealings. This left him juggling between curiosity of this woman's identity and fearing the ramifications of knowing such details. Ever since the initial meeting he was unable to carry through a conversation without a feeling of spiders crawling up his spine. Looking back, he gloomily wondered how he thought she wouldn't notice.

"…Look…" his voice cracked. "Things got …complicated."

"Yes, I can tell," she said crossing her arms. "But, complicated enough to betray me?"

His eyes widened. "No, wait!" he leaned against the door. "It's not that. It's just – they found out. I-I don't know how. But, look, they're threatening my family. What else am I supposed to –?"

Despite everything, his panic softened when she laid a hand on his shoulder. She was close enough that he could just see a smile surrounded by white markings on orange skin. "I understand," she said. "I'll handle this. But you need to take your family and go."

"O-okay. Okay," he nodded his head frantically.

She stepped back. "My target. Are they in there? Or…?"

"They're there. The uh –" he cleared his throat. Then whispered, "The sabres are there. I promise. If you don't get them tonight then they're the Empire's."

"Got it," she answered. "Stay here."

She crouched low before launching high into the air. Despite the power in her jump, barely a sound was made when she landed on the roof. Crawling across and her senses stretching out, she identified three individuals inside the building. Further along the roof were four rows of pyramid skylights. She drew close and peered inside: a Falleen, a Human and a Twi'lek. Each clothed in rags reflecting their bounty hunter professions. Each equipped with weaponry. Each hardly worth the effort.

She pulled from her belt two sabres, her thumbs caressed their activation buttons. Below, the Twi'lek growled and complained loudly about her accomplice wasting their time. She smirked, and prepared herself. "Time for some fun," she murmured.

~o0o~

Upon awakening, a stained ceiling greeted Obi-Wan.

Along with a light too bright for his stinging eyeballs. Blotches of green followed his sight as Obi-Wan relied on visuals to explain where he was. Not much luck. With his body feeling like it was made from cement, he gave up and extended his other senses. Voices mumbled in the background but a commlink with bad reception would be more understandable at this rate, thanks to his fuzzy feeling ears. Raised in the Temple where illness was a rarity, Obi-Wan miserably wished his body would fix itself already. His shoulders seized as he flinched.

Anakin's face appeared. "You're awake!" he turned over his shoulder. "Padmé! Obi-Wan's awake!" His voice slowly grew louder, and smooth jazz music from the bar could be heard oozing through the thin walls.

"I'll go tell Nina," came a determined response. Anakin grumbled and Obi-Wan shifted on the bed as the door was opened and closed.

"…Wait. What?"

"You were drugged," Anakin explained. "You were actually drugged. Can't believe you fell for that."

Obi-Wan huffed. "Everyone was drinking. I thought it would be safe. Enough."

Anakin snorted. He crawled behind Obi-Wan's head and rearranged the pillows. "I guess but mum always told me to never drink what you haven't served yourself."

Obi-Wan cringed at the stiffness of his neck as he looked up. "Your mum? You know your mum?"

"…Yeah," Anakin said softly. Then went back to cheerful chattiness. "Don't try to change the subject. You should be thanking the Force things didn't get any worse."

Then, much to Obi-Wan's surprise, Anakin hooked his hands under Obi-Wan's shoulders and dragged the boy up. Obi-Wan bit down on his tongue to hold back a whimper. His whole body might as well have been solid stone for a hundred years suddenly been forced to move. He sagged in relief when he was propped up on the pillows. Anakin shuffled to Obi-Wan's side wearing the kind of grin that reminded Obi-Wan of Quinlan and that was never a good sign.

"That's twice now," Anakin finally said.

Frowning, Obi-Wan replied, "Twice what?"

Anakin snickered. "That I've saved you."

"What? No! That Mandalorian –"

"–Her name is Nina, by the way," Anakin clarified, though he didn't sound happy about it.

Obi-Wan paused at Anakin's tone but then dismissed it. "'Nina', sure. She was the one who helped me."

Triumphantly Anakin proudly proclaimed, "Yeah, but she only knew because I told her. She found Dex first and then us. I could feel something was wrong in the Force so…" Anakin pointed to himself. "I rescued you. That Mandalorian just handled the other stuff."

Obi-Wan arched a sceptical eyebrow. "…you said twice. What's the other time?"

"When you tackled that Storm Trooper."

"Storm what?"

"That's what those soldiers in white armour are called. According to Dex," Anakin shrugged. "But yeah, at the Temple, Padmé and me –"

"– 'Padmé and I', you mean–"

"–Whatever. 'And I' saved you from the Storm Trooper. So, that makes it twice."

Obi-Wan stewed over Anakin's argument as he toyed with his fingers. A prickling sensation tingled along his fingertips. He nudged his thumbs. Taking a deep breath, Obi-Wan relented, "Fine. If you so insist. But that's it. It'll never happen again. In fact, I'll be the one saving you next time."

Instead of a sneer Obi-Wan was expecting, Anakin burst into a delightful smile. The boy grabbed Obi-Wan's hands and squeezed them as he said cheerfully. "Really? Thank you. I can't wait for you to rescue me. But you got some catching up to do before you can beat me."

A spark of unmitigated joy caught Obi-Wan by surprise. Instead of Bruck Chun, Anakin was reminding him greatly of his best friend Bant. He gave Anakin a grin and cheekily said, "This is a game, huh? I'm afraid I must take back my previous comment. The first one at the Temple doesn't count."

"What? Yes it does."

"Noo, we were all in trouble. If anything, I rescued you and Padmé first because that Cloud Trooper –"

"–Storm Trooper."

"–Yes, that's what I said," Obi-Wan said breezily. "That trooper was going to draw his weapon so –"

The door groaned as it opened.

Although unable to see beyond the foot of his bed, Obi-Wan immediately knew it was Padmé when the girl muttered on the boys' unnecessarily loud level of volume. As Anakin answered her, Obi-Wan noticed that he was laying on the top bunk and felt another spark of appreciation for the Padawan beside him. Padmé climbed up the ladder to join the boys on the bed. "She'll be here in a bit," the girl informed. "She's talking to Dex."

Anakin narrowed his eyes. "About what?"

"Calm down. She's not trying to hurt us. In fact, she and Dex are trying to find a way to get us off-planet," Padmé tapped her fingernails against the bed's metal railing. It dinged like a musical instrument. "The spaceports are heavily guarded. Anakin, I know you don't want to but you really might need to cut that braid –"

"–I told you, no," the prickling fire in Anakin's tone ended the debate.

Sighing, Padmé turned to Obi-Wan. "How are you feeling?"

His cheeks warmed at the care he was receiving. "Uh, I can't move my body, but I'm alright."

"You call that 'alright'?" Padmé said with a small playful smile. Then she gave Obi-Wan a pointed look. "In all seriousness though, don't run off like that again. Both of you. We're in this together and I don't want us separated for any reason, got it?"

"Yep," Anakin agreed in a split second.

Obi-Wan thought over the girl's request and found himself in favourable opinion of it. "Yeah. Okay."

"Good. Now," Padmé looked to Anakin and waited.

Anakin lost his giddy attitude and concentrated on the wall instead. There was a crack the shape of a star. In the brief odd silence that followed Obi-Wan wished again he could move. "What?" he asked.

Padmé rolled her eyes and sighed again roughly. "Anakin has something to tell you."

"No, I don't," Anakin muttered.

"Yes, you do –Anakin, this is stupid," Padmé lectured. The bed squeaked as she smacked the mattress. "You need to tell Obi-Wan. Why do you insist on keeping this a secret?"

"Keeping what a secret?"

Anakin growled in frustration. "Cause this feels like a fresh start! I like it better this way. If he found out, then he might change and –"

"–Wait," Obi-Wan grunted as he barely managed to shuffle his body closer. He peered at Anakin. "A fresh start?"

Padmé gladly answered, "Anakin isn't from our time. In fact, none of us are from the same time. He already knew us."

"No, Padmé please! Don't ruin this –"

Obi-Wan gaped at him. "You know us? How!?"

Just as Anakin latched onto Padmé who looked ready to launch into a tirade, the door to their room slammed open. All three kids flinched violently, hearts leaping into their throats, and whirled to the visitor. As Anakin's forgot his exacerbation with Padmé because he was holding her wrists and her skin was soft and she was really pretty even at eleven, Obi-Wan soaked in the sight of the Mandalorian and Padmé mentally spat a swear word that would have earned her a lecture from her mother. The Mandalorian meanwhile was holding her helmet under her armpit, and her silky black hair was in disarray. It only took a second for all three of the children to recognise the stress and fear radiating off the woman.

"We need to go. Now," she ordered.

She marched towards the bed. Padmé swatted Anakin's hands away as she stammered, "Wait, what's going on?"

"I can't…move," Obi-Wan mumbled awkwardly.

Although Anakin would have preferred an interruption different from that Mandalorian, he was still thanking his lucky stars for the dropped discussion. But the stars offered only a middle finger in return when Nina said gravely. "He's here. Vader is on Coruscant." She picked up a bag full of supplies and held it out towards the kids. "Which one of you can use a blaster?"

"I can," Padmé volunteered. It was only after Anakin was holding the bag and Nina gave her the spare blaster did Padmé realise what she had just done. Insecurity made the blaster shake in her hands. She swallowed heavily as Anakin climbed down the bed.

"Come on, now!" Nina barked. "We don't have time to waste."

This only made Padmé's nerves almost stretch the breaking point. Her joints protested as she joined Anakin on the ground. Nina scurried up the bed and scooped Obi-Wan into her arms, talking quietly to the mortified boy. Padmé clutched the blaster close to her chest, imaging the moment when she shot the Storm Trooper at the Temple. In a blink, panic had taken over and pulled the trigger for her. Now, her brain was too busy listing all the ways she was going to fail at protecting Anakin and Obi-Wan with the weapon in her hands.

"Psst! Padmé, you okay?"

Padmé released a soft high-pitched gasp. The gnarling vines retreated from their hold as Anakin came into view again. To the girl's increasing worry however, beneath Anakin's concern for her was undying confidence in her abilities. "Padmé?"

"Um…"

"Right, let's go, let's go!" With her hands busy carrying Obi-Wan, Nina gestured with her head towards the window. "Open it up. We got to go."

The window panel was sticky, firm and required both Padmé and Anakin to shove it up. Just as they did, the door to the room opened. Dex rushed in and croakily said, "Why are you still here? You got to go, now!"

"Getting there," Nina hissed. "Kids, now! Out the window!"

As Anakin and Padmé moved, Nina and Obi-Wan turned to Dex. To Obi-Wan, it seemed as though the two adults were in the midst of an intense telepathic discussion. It was short but its end finalised when Nina seized up as though preparing for battle, and Dex slouching as he stepped back. Dex made eye contact with Obi-Wan, frowning again like he was searching for someone.

Dex shook his head and said tiredly, "Go. I'll cover your tracks."

"Thank you," Nina answered gratefully. "May the Force be with you."

Even though Obi-Wan's neck ached he tried to keep Dex in his sights. A bad feeling clawed inside his chest. But with little control over his body, Obi-Wan stayed silent as Nina clambered through the window and met the other kids outside. Coruscant's cold night air slithered underneath their clothing and along their sensitive skin. It then occurred to Padmé that it wasn't natural air at all but artificially cooled air pumped out by pipes attached to the buildings. It helped to tame the heat concocted by dancing bodies, loud nightclubs and street venues. Padmé looked to Nina, who was eyeing the crowd.

"Follow me," Nina said. "Stay right by my side. Not behind me. Hold each other's hands. Dear, have that blaster ready. Kiddo, keep that bag close. That's carrying our supplies. Don't want to lose that."

"Got it," Padmé said. Anakin nodded but focused on the ground.

Obi-Wan sighed. "I'll just…sit here then."

Nina chuckled. "You need to heal. But I would also appreciate a third eye. Keep a look out behind us." Glad to have something to do, Obi-Wan shifted in the woman's arms to gain a better view over her shoulders. Nina nudged him. "Not so obvious!"

"Sorry."

Nina and the three children sped off. All of them aware of the building tension and whispers amongst the crowd as the news of the surprise visitor was spreading. Vader's presence infiltrated and destroyed the fun night-out environment like a toxin. Nina only hoped she could get herself and the children away in time before they were caught in the poisonous trap.

~o0o~

All that was left was the Falleen.

The human was nursing a broken arm at the far corner of the room, huddled in the darkness like a pitiful creature. The Twi'lek was out cold for a few hours of peace before their inevitable awakening to a swollen broken jaw, dried blood on their face and a lost tooth. It made the Falleen seethe in fury but shudder as the cloaked individual drew closer.

Tossed to the side were their blasters or what was left of them anyway. Each had been snatched from their hands by an invisible force. The blasters had dangled in the air as though to tease them before being crushed into pieces. As it rained metal and distracted the bounty hunters, the intruder had dropped from the roof and handled them in a matter of seconds. There was a flash of yellow and green light, grunts and groans when fists collided and a sting when something hot cut along the Falleen's hand.

He never believed dying from old age was a future for someone in his profession so the Falleen stood tall and waited for whatever the intruder flung at him. This bravery diminished slightly when he felt intense heat cooking his neck. Two lightsabres were positioned to scissor his neck off if he said one thing even remotely wrong.

"Lightsabres," the intruder demanded.

The Falleen had only two paths to take and both ended in death. Considering he was old enough to remember the days of the Jedi before the Empire reigned supreme, old grudges sat firmly on his shoulders and refused to appeal to this Jedi. "You're not getting them," he hissed.

"Where are they?" she asked again.

"You can search all your want," the Fallen spat. "But I ain't telling you."

A rough sigh left her lips. She deactivated the yellow lightsabre and tucked it away, keeping an eye on the bounty hunter. With a free hand, she hovered it before the Falleen's face and pushed with the Force. Immediately, the Falleen felt a something sharp prick at one particular point on his skull by his right temple. It was like a pin was needling it ways through tissue and bone, rubbing and creating a high-pitch noise that echoed through his brain. All the Force's efforts were concentrated on one spot and the Falleen's breath quickened as he struggled against the blinding pulsing pressure building up in his skull as though it was about to burst. Finally, the Force slipped through, tied strings around the Falleen's brain and controlled the voice box and mouth to give the intruder what she wanted.

"Underneath," the Falleen groaned. "They're buried underneath. The floor."

She released him. The sudden removal was a change too fast for the Falleen to handle. He dropped to the floor. She activated her lightsabre again and used both to slice through the floor. Once a red-rimmed square was sizzling, she used to the Force to lift it up and away. Nothing. The Falleen had told the truth but even he had been unsure as to where exactly the lightsabres was buried.

Mumbling in frustration, she got to work dicing up the floor.

It was only minutes later when she received a warning from the Force.

She slid her body to the right and narrowly dodged a bullet. Its loud blast boomed in the chamber. Judging by the angle of the bullet's direction, the attacker was positioned on the roof, using the very same entrance point she had used to get in. She held her lightsabres at the ready, both herself and the Force allies against the threat. Then, the sniper was flung away.

She momentarily slouched before raising her shields again. She leapt to the roof, her lightsabres crisscrossed in front of her body to protect her. What she found was the unconsciousness sniper and a frown on her face. The Force hummed peacefully but comfort did not settle. She turned around to seek out her unlikely ally only to learn that a long gruelling search was not required.

He was standing right there.

She dropped her lightsabres and pulled back her hood. "Master Obi-Wan?"

"Ahsoka?"

~o0o~

Honestly terrified of writing Ahsoka wrong. Hope I got her right. I have seen her in Clone Wars and Rebels but I haven't read the book. Also, with the appearance of Ahsoka, we're now moving into the, I guess I should call it, actual plot of the story. I just want to warn everyone that the events I am making for this plot are purely made-up.