Even under the weight of the cursed night, the flames pulsed a brilliant yellow as it ate the village whole.

Amongst the panic was a boy. He had made the choice to stay.

Still, regrets echoed in his head.

"You have promise, young one. That much is obvious from your level of control. But you're weak. Do not fight this battle."

Tears and sweat made greasy streaks down his face. He grunted, running from the voice.

A wall of smoke blocked his entry into the village.

The fire charred his skin from yellow to red.

He stumbled ahead.

"Mother! Father!" He cried, coughing and spluttering on the rain of embers.

His pleas were drowned in the wades of fear and agony erupting around him. The pain of strangers drowned out his own, washing out the noise of the roaring flames.

"But know that strength is learnt. Stick by my side and together, we'll see that you grow stronger. So this does not happen again."

The boy choked down an ashy sob.

"Master," he whispered hoarsely. "Why…"

As the words screamed louder in his head, images begun to accompany them. The Jedi Knight had sat dutifully by his side, watching the chaos unfold below them; serene, as if he were viewing a sunset. Upon sensing him rouse, he had led the boy down the ship's ramp for a full view of the village he had just come to know as his home. His Master folded his arms. Then crossed the remaining two behind his back.

"Let go of everything you fear to lose, young one. Free yourself. Only then, will you find true strength in the force."

A loud snap from behind startled him back to the present. A flaming support beam cracked, swinging out to catch the boy in the head. He collapsed to his knees, the dirt soft and warm.

Everything he had been told was a lie. Everything he had hoped for was burning.

And everything he had in him to keep fighting, was gone…

Right up until he caught a hazy glimpse of a three pronged ship leaving the atmosphere.

Something resurfaced within him. A feral scream ripped through his throat as his blood boiled over. The fire split and shimmered around him, the building quaking under his hatred.

"MASTER!"

"Haki - you doing alright?"

Her Togrutan companion flinched as she went to tap his shoulder. After she pushed back the droid forces beyond the village entrance, he had been the one to usher the villagers to safety. She imagined that for someone unused to war, it would be difficult to process everything.

"I'm fine. We need to get to that ridge." He shook her off, pointing towards the small hut on the edge of the forest. "I haven't seen Kohma yet, she may still be up there."

Ahsoka nodded. His tone echoed that of her Master, where the phrase "I'm fine" bears a different meaning to its intended usage. But she failed to sense apprehensive feelings from him of any kind. Perhaps that tone was just his default. Whatever it was, her focus needed to be on Kohma.

"She is, I can sense her," Ahsoka replied.

Kohma's presence was like a tiny flicker of light to her but even from a distance, she felt its warmth. The light shivered. Commander Tano clenched her jaw.

"As soon as I get her out, set off that flare. We're late as it is," she ordered, turning her back to size up the ridge wall.

"And what if they don't come? What then, do we run?" He asked.

Her people skills were usually pretty good but she could swear there was bitterness in his tone. It contrasted the neutral feeling emanating from him within the force.

Then all of this was for nothing and my Master's gonna kill me, she thought but decided against fuelling his sudden onset cynicism.

"Then we'll deal with it if it comes to that," she answered plainly. "I'll go on ahead. Meet me up there as soon as you can."

Before he could cram in another "but", she sprinted for the stony ledge and bounded 50 feet into the air. Ahsoka tucked and rolled gracefully onto the ridge's edge, sparing one lingering glance over her shoulder. The smoke had thinned significantly and the village was practically empty. Bits of wood and wheelbarrows lay scattered about. Had it not been for the general disheveled look of it, the village would've felt homely.

To Ahsoka, buildings and property were of little importance compared to people. After battles in a populated area, she didn't stop to think "what a relief no buildings were destroyed". If citizens were out of the way, then she and the clones could do their jobs without fear for innocent lives. That's what mattered. But looking down upon the remains of General Rhok and Kohma's home, she couldn't help but feel ashamed that her first instinct was to uproot these people and get them out of the way. This place was everything they had. And she was one of the ones helping to take it away from them.

The thoughts clawed at her Jedi values. Shaking them off had become increasingly more difficult in the last few days. So after one last check on the horizon and a notable lack of colourful smoke, Ahsoka ran before she changed her mind. As she trekked onward, the distant sounds of metal creaking grew louder, surrounding her. She spotted a patrol of droids continuing their retreat from her last encounter with them. As good as it would've felt to dice them up, she instead decided to leap into the treetops where her cover was more secure. She listened intently as they marched under her.

"I thought the General was supposed to be dealing with the Jedi. This is way out of my pay grade," she heard one whinge.

"You get paid?" Another questioned hopefully.

"Shut it you two. We follow the General's orders, not whine about it. No more until we reach the capital," the captain spoke up.

"Roger, Roger."

Her grip froze on the branches. Grevious must have met up with Obi Wan and Anakin to know she wasn't with them. Of course that cruel, heartless bucket head would attack the village to lure them out. Once the droids were out of earshot, she leapt to the ground and doubled her pace. She instinctively sensed for the others, hoping that nothing went wrong. She struggled with finding Obi Wan but as usual Anakin's force signature blazed like a sun at night. If anything had happened to Obi Wan Kenobi, she would've known from sensing his. Obviously nothing had. Signs from the flares or the force would've told her otherwise. But her misty vision and the way her gut churned was unsettling enough to warrant her vigilance.

Another couple paces and she'd reached the hut. Kohma was most certainly inside. She got the feeling that the elder was shaken up but still in one piece. Ahsoka took a deep breath, the stiffness in her shoulders loosening ever so slightly. She had begun to check if the area was clear or not when her throat flared up. The relief morphed into an intense anxiety.

She could smell smoke again.

Adrenaline moved her body before her brain could catch up.

Without thought or hesitation, she sprinted out into the open, weapons in hand and ready to cut down the door.

"Kohma! Get outta - " her words were cut off by a whoompf as a mechanical knee hurled into her gut and sent her flying backwards.

Ahsoka stabbed her sabres into the ground, igniting them on contact. Her skidding quickly slowed to a halt. Spluttering, she looked up only to wish that she hadn't.

General Grievous crawled down from the roof, all four arms outstretched on display, preventing her from moving into the hut.

"If it isn't Skywalker's brat," he greeted.

"Hey Tin Can - it's been a while," she responded. "Mind stepping aside and running away as usual?"

He cackled and it quickly devolved into a round of coughing.

"As usual, the youngling spouts more Jedi hypocrisy," he spat, igniting a sabre and lifting it towards the thatched roofing. The embers started to burn brighter. "I'm not moving - but this time, I'll make sure you won't run either, Jedi Scum!"

With that, he slashed the lip of the roof. It flared up instantly, like eager kindling.

"NO!" Ahsoka cried leaping in to get passed him.

The droid swung at her as she tried to leap through the windows. She ducked the first sweep but before she made it to the glass, she met another limb rotating to smack her backwards. Her sabres raised, she got in close - closer than she probably should have. Grevious may not be force sensitive but his reactions were as quick as metal and wires could be. He blocked and parried her duel sabres effortlessly, using his superior strength to force her into a lock each opportunity he could.

Ahsoka jumped onto his knees and leapt over him, her sabres clenched behind her in her reverse grip, ready for an incoming slash. Instead, the droid general jumped onto his arms, swivelling his legs over the top to catch her in the front. She sailed back into the ground under his momentum, trapped by a clawed foot. He held his sabres at her throat. Her mind finally caught up. He's not trying to kill me - he's not allowed to.

"Ahsoka!"

Haki's voice cried out beside her and the gears in her head chugged into motion. She kicked out her feet to unbalance the distracted Grievous and made for an offensive jab to his chest plate. In his fleeting panic, he bashed the attack aside and retreated, allowing her to stand up again.

"Haki, Kohma's inside!" She called out. He looked at the burning house, nodding grimly from the side. "When you see an opening -"

"Got it," he finished as Grevious glared her down. She hated putting Haki in his way, but she was the only one who could keep the cyborg occupied.

She steadied herself, shifting to a more offensive Ataru stance that would make Obi Wan wince. Grevious couldn't fight aggressively. She had to use the advantage to give Haki a window of opportunity to slip passed him.

"If you're scared, it's not too late to surrender!" She called back, fighting the instinct to look behind him to see how much of the house was left standing.

Kohma was there but she wasn't even calling for help. Her silent fear grated the young Jedi's nerves.

"I could say the same for -" Before Grevious could get in his response, Ahsoka had launched herself forward, slicing for his head and chest.

He backed up again as she manoeuvred herself between him and the building, keeping him focused on her. In her periphery, she saw Haki race through the door. Good - now eyes on me bucket head, she told herself, leaping under and over the General's attacks.

She heard Haki call out Kohma's name. Each time, Grevious swung out more viciously, his anger testing his control. Haki called again. The droid growled in aggravation.

The hut behind her grew hotter. Ahsoka didn't budge. Be ready with that flare Haki, she internally urged. Get her out and be ready…

Greivous begun crashed his sabres over head and her vision filled with blue and green light as she blocked. Time seemed to slow down once again, like it had in her meditation. Her world was one of light and heat and sweat. Hot wind gusted around her, spewing embers in a whirlwind of red; dancing like the leaves of this village. Where embers met sky they hung for a while, hiding amongst the evening stars. She felt everything in focus, like she was the eye of the storm.

What happens now, will decide everything…

It was the same voice from before. Gentle and steady.

…and I am sorry young one, but there is still more to learn.

Her focus flickered on the tinge of red on the horizon. It climbed higher into the sky. The eye passed over her.

She snapped back with a force push sending Grevious cracking into a nearby tree trunk. Her breath hitched as she finally registered the red flare.

Heart sinking into her stomach, she turned around and leapt through the burning door before the Cyborg recovered. Her sense clouded after she picked up on a glimpse of Anakin's intense rage. The more she tried to steady her focus on him, the blurrier it got. The fire's heat engulfed her as she whipped around in search of her allies.

"Haki! Kohma!" She yelled trying to steady herself. "Where are you?"

No response. Her senses were useless.

"HEY!" She shouted, diving further in. A spout fire and wood cracking under heat blocked her path every way she turned.

She needed to find them, to find Anakin and the others, to somehow make this right…

A ghostly echo of someone else's pain shivered down her spine. Then a familiar voice rung through her head.

Get out of here, Snips.

Ahsoka looked back to the door. Grievous was still out there. Innocent people were still inside. And every choice she had made, every order she had ignored had led her here.

"HAKI! KOHMA!" She tried once again out of sheer desperation.

Nothing answered but the roaring of flames and the reverberation of Kohma's last words to her.

"You're resolve is your greatest asset…"

The last things she had left was herself and the mission. She had to survive this - to contact the Republic and prevent more of this from happening. Her gaze flitted to the hand drawn picture of Kohma and Master Shaak Tii. Squeezing her eyes shut and clenching her fists, she spun on her heel, sabre's in hand, snatching the crispy drawing off of the wall. She readied herself, gripping firmer to her weapons; her last line of defence. With a running start, she broke through the window into the open air, ready to keep running through whatever sabres and droids awaited her.

"I really wanted them to be wrong, you know."

The adrenaline pumping through her veins turned to ice. He was leaning against the recently cracked tree, arms crossed over his chest. He felt as painfully neutral to her through the force as he had when they'd left the ship. But the more her senses pried, the more she realised that she wasn't actually able to reach him. Like there was a wall over his presence.

"But the General was right. You Jedi always end up running away, don't you?"

"Haki - " With the flick of a wrist, the pistol concealed in the crook of his elbow had fired off a stun blast.

Ahsoka collapsed to her knees, her body desperately clinging onto the last of her resolve to keep her conscious.

As Haki approached, his com link buzzed with the voice of General Greivous. He casually answered, kicking the light sabres away from Ahsoka's weakened grasp. The drawing crumpled and floated off with them.

"Well done Phoenix 4. Count Dooku will be most impressed by our success."

As Haki - or as she now knew him - Phoenix 4, looked up at the burning village, the wall slipped and that speck of conflict he'd let slip a couple times shone through. His eyes grew older at the sight of the wreckage in the night and for a final, horrifying moment, he looked so much like Anakin again.

"I'm sure he will be. Send a ship for me once you've retrieved Phoenix 3 and the rest. I've got it covered here," he muttered softly.

Ahsoka's strength quickly faded after several attempts at calling her sabres back to her. Without looking to her, Haki levelled the barrel of the pistol at her head once more. Her hazy eyes floated from the blazing hut to the village. Parts of it were still alight and the smoke curled across the cloudless night as if it covering it up. As if stars should not be allowed to shine so bright on a night like this.

"Where's… Kohma…" she gritted through her teeth.

His silence was answer enough.

"Sleemo…" she hissed.

Haki pulled the trigger. Ahsoka's hand rested on the charred image of the beaming Shaak Tii nestled in Kohma's lap, with the knowledge that she had done everything she thought was right and because of that, she had failed everyone.

Hey everyone - we're back! Sorry for the belated uploads, I knew this one was gonna be a big one to write. Yes, this story still has ground to cover and I am most certainly going to cover it! I've had it all planned out for a little while now so I like to make bits interesting to guess / find out along the way so whatever easter eggs you pick up on, let me hear it! Again, it really makes my week to hear your reviews and supportive words. I'm just really happy that people are enjoying the read.