On the Run

...

"Ahsoka, wait!" Anakin shouted as he ran after her.

Ahsoka slowed down, not facing him, while waiting till he caught up with her.

"Ahsoka, I need to talk to you," Anakin said as he finally slowed down by Ahsoka. "Why are you doing this?"

The Togruta finally turned around, facing him. "The council didn't trust me," she said softy, glancing downward and hugging her chest, "so how can I trust myself?"

"What about me?" Anakin asked, gesturing to himself. "I believed in you. I stood by you."

Ahsoka looked up. "I know you believe in me, Anakin, and I'm grateful for that. But this isn't about you." She suddenly found the ground more interesting. "I can't stay here any longer, not now."

"The Jedi Order is your life," Anakin replied, pointing towards Ahsoka. "You can't just throw it away like this." He looked down, feeling a bit guilty. "Ahsoka, you're making a mistake."

The young Togruta made eye contact with her master. "Maybe, but I have to sort this on my own, without the council," she said softly, her back turned against him, "And without you."

Anakin felt a sharp pain pierced through his gut as those words smacked against him. He turned away, closing his eyes. These emotions will not control him. Finally he said, "I understand." He paused. "More than you realized. I understand wanting to walk away from the order." Anakin glanced back up to see if Ahsoka would turn around.

But she didn't.

"I know," she replied and started to walk away, leaving everything behind.

A little voice drew Ahsoka out of her painful thoughts. She blinked a few times before her eyes focused on a little human boy in front of her. He was smiling at her; his great big green eyes sparkled in the sun.

"I'm sorry," said Ahsoka, feeling a bit embarrassed as she knelt down to his eye level. "Did you say something to me?"

The boy rocked back and forth on his feet. "Are you okay?" he chirped.

The young Togruta blinked in confusion. "I think so. Why do you ask?"

"You looked sad," explained the little boy. "I was wondering if you were okay."

The former padawan smiled weakly. "I'm fine," she replied softly. Ahsoka sighed and decided to change the topic. She glanced around her and rose to her full height. "Now why don't you show me where I can get some good fruit in this city?"

The boy grinned. "Sure! Follow me!"

As they dodged people through the city, the boy rambled on about which fruit was the best and which one Ahsoka should try. She smiled and listened to him, answering him when he asked questions. He talked about how his father owned a fruit stand in the city and bragged about how his was the best.

"I saw your ship when you flew in," the boy suddenly said. "Are you visiting Onderon?"

Ahsoka hesitated. "I guess."

"Have you been here before?" he chirped excitedly.

"Yes, I have," the Togruta replied truthfully. "It was a few months ago."

They walked up to a decent fruit stand; the boy ran up to the person behind the stand and gave him a hug.

"Hello Papa!" the boy greeted excitedly. "Guess what? I made a friend! And she loves fruits!"

Ahsoka smiled back at the father. "Hello," she said warmly.

"Ah! Is this the friend yer talkin' 'bout, son?" questioned the father as a grin spread across his face.

The boy skipped back towards the Togruta. "Yep!" he replied enthusiastically.

The father laughed at his son and turned his attention back on Ahsoka. "I'm 'fraid I didn't get yer name, miss."

"Oh!" Ahsoka felt like she ran into a brick wall. "Sorry, I should've introduced myself earlier. I'm Ahsoka Tano."

The man's eyes widen then scrunched into confusion. He rubbed his chin, searching his stand for something. He muttered some words that the former padawan couldn't hear. There were a few clatters coming from behind the stand as the father moved things around.

The Togruta glanced at the boy. "Did I say something wrong?" she asked nervously.

The boy only shrugged. "Papa, what are you doing?" he asked curiously.

They were ignored as the man continued to search his stand for something. Finally he stood back up, holding a hologram device.

"Ah!" the father exclaimed, feeling successful. "Here yer go miss." He held out the device to Ahsoka.

Ahsoka accepted the device. "Um, what is this for?" she asked, puzzled.

The man leaned against his stand. "A fine lad came by. Told me to give that device to Ahsoka Tano. He was quite specific on the name. Said that yer would come by later. He dressed kinda funny." He waved his hand. "None of my business anyway."

The Togruta studied the device. It was familiar. She used it a lot while she was training to become a Jedi Knight. Thinking about it felt like a kicked in the gut. Ahsoka quickly dismissed the thought.

"Did he give you his name?" she asked.

"Called himself the Doctor," he shrugged. "He was an interesting lad. That's all I know."

"The Doctor?" she repeated, wanting to make sure she heard that correctly.

"Yeh, that's right," he confirmed.

"Doctor who?"

She never heard of someone called the Doctor. How did he know about her? Why was he interested in her? Was the Doctor someone who came to talk to people after they left the Jedi Order? It was a silly thought, but she couldn't help to think that. Who was he?

"I asked the same question," he replied. "He said 'just the Doctor' and walked off." The man let out a loud sigh. "Yer better head back home. Getting kinda late. I'm closing down shop."

Ahsoka was so absorb in her thoughts about the Doctor she almost didn't hear him. "What? Oh, of course. I'll come back sometime soon. See you later kid," she smiled at the boy, "and nice meeting you." She nodded towards the father.

"Same to you, miss," he grinned. "Good luck."

They both parted ways as the sun began to go down. The former padawan walked back to her ship that was just outside the city walls behind some trees in a forest nearby. As she arrived to her ship, she turned on the hologram device.

A man popped up. He was skinny and somewhat tall. He wore some kind of hat. The clothing didn't look familiar and Ahsoka finally understood what the father meant by 'dressed kinda funny'.

"Oh! Hello!" the man greeted enthusiastically. "I'm the Doctor." He did a little twirl and tapped his hat. "You must've gotten my message by now, Ahsoka Tano. So let's get straight to the point. You're in danger." He fiddled with his hands. "Now, normally I would help you, but I'm currently working on a small problem on planet Earth."

"Earth?" Ahsoka mumbled. "I've never heard of that planet."

There was a loud explosion in the background of the hologram followed by some screaming. "Okay, it's a big problem. It's Christmas and everything goes horribly wrong on that day." He clapped his hands together. "Now, I can give you some advice, but that's as far as I can go. So listen closely." He leaned in as if he was telling her a secret. "There are these creatures, weeping angels, also known as the lonely assassin. They're very dangerous. They send people back in time and feed on time energy. However, some do kill."

"What?" The former padawan asked out loud, confused.

There was another loud explosion. The Doctor quickly turned around to see how bad the damage was then turned back around. "Okay, I don't have much time, so I'll have to hurry. The weeping angels are after you. For now, I don't really understand why, but I'll find out soon." Some plaster from a ceiling fell from behind the Doctor. "They're quantum locked. They can't move while being observed. To you, they look like a statue. But once you look away, or blink, then, oh yes they can move."

"What are you talking about?" she asked the hologram and remembered this was just a recording.

"Doctor!" a voice shrieked in the hologram. A girl, a few years older than Ahsoka, ran in. She was also wearing strange clothing. "We need you!"

"I'll be right there, Clara!" he shouted back. "I'm delivering a message!"

The girl sighed in frustration and ran back out, disappearing from the message.

The Doctor looked back at Ahsoka. "Listen carefully. They're after you. Don't blink. Blink and you're dead. They're fast, faster than you can believe. Don't turn your back, don't look away and don't blink!" Another explosion. "Good luck! Geronimo!" The Doctor pulled out a short stick device and a glow appeared at the top, making a strange noise. Then the message turned off.

"What was that?" The Togruta wondered out loud.

Part of her wanted to laugh, as if this was some sort of joke. But the other part of her wondered if the strange man was telling the truth.

She decided that this was some sort of joke and that these stone creatures weren't real. Ahsoka wanted to go back to her home planet and get her mind off of everything. She wanted to try to be around her people and not have to think about the recent conversation she had with her master. But that was becoming extremely difficult; her mind was on the conversation. It's been on her mind since the moment she walked away from the Jedi Order.

"Let's just get out of here," she told herself.

Ahsoka hopped into her ship and was about to take off when she saw a figure in the distance. There was still sunlight, but it was dim, so it was hard to make out who it was. Curious, she hopped back out and started to walk towards the figure, not taking her eyes off of it.

As she got closer, she started to see more detail. It looked like a girl, crying; only she couldn't hear crying. The girl didn't seem to have much color on her. And slowly Ashoka's fiction became reality. She realized that this was a weeping angel.

"They're real," she let out a short gasp.

The Togruta backed away slowly till she reached her ship. Out of habit, she looked away to get on the ship. Then she remembered her warning and looked back at the statue. Instead of it being in the distance, the angel was inches away from her. Its face morphed into pure hatred, its talons stretched out, reaching to grab Ahsoka.

The former padawan stumbled back from the ship, a startled scream stuck in her throat. Terrified eyes met empty ones.

She barely heard the angel move. How was she going to know if they were coming at her now?

Her instincts told her to run, but her brain told her to keep an eye on the statue. Ahsoka knew she couldn't keep an eye out on the statue forever. She was going to have to run. Like always, her instincts were the most trustworthy companion to have. Finally, she turned her heel and dashed away.

The wind whistled through her ears as she dodged trees and bushes. She was feeling pretty confident up until a statue appeared in front of her, a couple of yards away. The Togruta halted, and turned back around to run some more. But the second she did, she found the statue in front of her again. She backed away and in the corner of her eye, she saw another one.

"Another one?" Ahsoka asked out loud, not quite believing there was more.

She backed up some more so she could see the two statues more clearly. It was starting to get darker, the sky filled with red, purple and dark blue with black following. The angels were starting to look more like shadows than stone.

"Why are you after me?" asked the former padawan.

The statues didn't move, nor speak.

The young Togruta took a deep breath and quickly turned and ran as fast as she could. She stumbled across many roots and rocks along the way due to lack of sunlight. Even when she was still running away from these creatures, the conversation with her master was still on her mind.

"Focus, Ahsoka," she muttered under her breath.

After minutes of running, Ahsoka started breathing hard and slowed to a stop. She looked around for any signs of the angels, but they were nowhere in sight. The young Togruta took a deep breath and leaned against a tree to get some rest, but also to quick enough to run again if needed.

Minutes went by, and the angels still weren't in sight. The Togruta decided to head back to her ship and get off the planet. She walked quietly, but quickly and was alert as she made her way through the forest.

She remembered how her master would tell her how to be quiet and stealthy. It was the best way to get around things and because of this technique; they were able to complete a lot of missions. Thinking about her master felt like a kick in the gut. Ahsoka missed him. She wanted to see him again, but he wasn't here with her anymore. She was alone, truly alone this time.

The former padawan was brought out of her thoughts by her ship in the distance, gleaming in the moonlight. She let out a smile and quickened her pace. But then she noticed that something was off about her ship. As she got closer, she saw a figure by the ship. The Togruta let out a sharp gasp and walked backwards slowly. The angel's back was facing her, so she hoped it didn't notice her presence.

Then realization smacked her in the face. Where was the other one?

Panic swelled in her chest. She had to look around her surroundings, but if she did, then the angel by her ship could move. It was risky, but she decided that was the best option at the moment.

Ahsoka spun around, scanning her surrounding, but didn't see the other one. She quickly turned around and found out that the statue didn't move, but the other appeared on the other side of the ship.

She let out a sigh of relief. Now she could see them both. Ahsoka sat down, studying the ship and the angels by it. How was she going to get on? The ship was too big. If she went on one side, the other one could easily move and attack her. The former padawan decided that she had to draw them out far enough so she could walk backward to the ship and keep an eye out on them at the same time.

Feeling confident with her plan, she walked closer to the ship.

"I'm back!" Ahsoka announced loud enough for the angels to hear her. "Hope you didn't miss me too much."

She took a deep breath.

And blinked.

The angels were facing her, their hands were down just below the chin and this time they didn't look angry. This time they looked calm. They were just a few yards away from her. Ahsoka moved a few steps backwards and blinked again. The angels were closer now with the same calm face, but their arms were by their sides.

"That is really creepy," Ahsoka muttered under her breath.

Ahsoka continued the same routine over and over and the angels grew angrier each time. She couldn't help it each time they moved, fear spiked in her chest. Part of her was worried that she would blink and they would get to her and another part was worried that the angels will suddenly move faster than they were normally and get to her. In general, she was just worried they would get to her.

"I wish you were here to save me, Skyguy," Ahsoka whispered. "Like you always do."

Finally Ahsoka decided that this was far enough and slowly walked around the angels so she was watching them from behind. She started moving backwards and stumbling many times, but still managed to keep an eye on them. The former padawan realized she led them deeper in the forest than she had intended to. If she couldn't see where she was going, she would miss her ship.

She had to turn and run for it.

So she did.

Ahsoka pushed all her strength in her legs, the wind whipping against her face. She used the Force for a little more power, but she knew the angels were still insanely fast. The ship drew closer. She could taste freedom. Free from the weeping angels. All she had to do was make it.

She knew she could make it! The ship was right there.

Then suddenly Ahsoka felt a cold, smooth hand brush against her neck.

...

fin