Kalex Bonteri
12 ABY
Imperial Medical Research Laboratory
Wobani

Kal stood up and started pacingthe length of his room. None of his actions seemed to be any different than normal, except for the fact that he was completely numb. He was a bit concerned with his glowing veins, but there was nothing he could do about it. He glanced in a mirror on the opposite side of the room. There was nothing out of the ordinary except for the green blood and his eyes. They had alsp turned a shade of neon green to match the chemical.

He had to find his father. Kal had no idea what the chemical was going to do to him longer term, but Lux would know. He always had the answer.

Kal took a deep breath and tried to steady his heart rate. If he was going go escape, he would have to move quickly. Yersinia could be back at any point in time. He walked over to the door and played with the lock. Typically, he could get locks open without any effort, though this time was different. No matter how hard he tried, it wouldn't unlock. He took a safety pin from the medical counter and fiddled around with the locking mechanism until it clicked open.

He peeked out from behind the door. There was no one in sight, so he slowly crept through the hallway.

His feet echoed through the metal walls, which made it much harder to progress without being discovered. The halls just never seemed to end; no matter which direction he turned, he was always met with another intersection.

He wandered around for a long time before finally finding something. There was a large, old-fashioned door with visible gears and a keypad for a pascode.

Kal took a step closer and started pushing numbers, trying to guess the password. Darth Fils had muttered a four-digit number that could work back when Kal and Lux were brought in for questioning. What was it?

"218..." he muttered. But what was the last number? 3? He tried it, but it was wrong. Maybe it was 4? Also wrong. A warning flashed on the screen. He only had one more try left before the whole lab went on lockdown.

Kal had no idea what it could possibly be. His favorite number was 37, and he'd already tried 3. He closed his eyes and looked away after trying "2187." He stood for a moment, waiting for the alarms to go off, but they didn't. He breathed a sigh of relief as the vault door slowly squeaked open.

Inside, there was a long, narrow hallway with doors on either side. He had no idea what was on the other side of them, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know. There was a feminine scream coming from behind the door at the end of the hall. Kal immediately ran towards it.

He clicked a series of buttons on the side to unlock the door. A friend had taught him how to get past the newest Imperial locking mechanisms, and he was grateful for it.

There was a woman in a bacta tank filled with what looked like the same liquid Yersinia had injected in his own arm. She had white bandages wrapped around her upper arms, matching her short white spandex-like shorts and top. With his first glance, Kal could tell she was pregnant, due any day.

He took a few hesitant steps toward her. He had never seen anything like her before, yet she looked familiar. Too familiar.

Kal scrolled through the information on the datapad in front of the bacta tank. She had been a Jedi during the Clone Wars – the apprentice of Anakin Skywalker. Her name was Ahsoka Tano, and had been reported dead almost 8 years ago.

The datapad slipped from Kal's hands and clattered on the floor. "Mom?" be whispered, more to himself than anyone else.

Ahsoka looked up and into his eyes. How was she alive? Lux had always said that she had been killed a long time ago at a very emotional time for all of them. It couldn't possibly be the same person in the tank. But, then again, whenever Kal thought there was a limit to the Empire's power, he had been proven wrong.

Kal knew it was only a matter of minutes before Dr. Pestis or Yersinia came to check on her for something. He had to at fast if he was going to do anything to save her. He scrolled through the menu of the bacta tank's control pad, looking for some sort of release button.

After figuring out how to drain the tank, Kal was able to get Ahsoka out of the tank in one piece. He sat her up next to him and helped dry her off.

"Thanks for getting me out of that vile thing," she said, attempting to smile. "I don't believe we've met; may I ask your name?"

Kal blinked. "Are you serious right now? You don't know who I am?"

She shook her head. "No. Should I?"

"I wouldn't think having a kid isn't easy to forget." Maybe he had been really little the last time she had seen him, and since it had been so long, she had simply forgotten. It could be some form of PTSD. His father had his moments, so he was sure it probably affected her, too. "I'm Kalex Bonteri, your son?"

"Oh. I'm terribly sorry that I don't remember you. I think the doctors took you from my head, just like everyone else I used to know."

Kal didn't believe it. He couldn't believe it. After all these years, she had been here? And how the kriff was she pregnant? Unless the baby was someone else's or some sick form of "scientific development"...

She had to see Lux. If anything his father had told him about Ahsoka had been true, she had to remember him. His father had said they had known each other since they were teenagers. If she couldn't remember someome she'd known for pretty much her entire life, then Kal wasn't sure she wanted anything to do with her.

"Can I show you someone I think you'll remember?" Kal asked.

"If you want to, sure."

He helped her up and braced her as she slowly walked towards the door.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Eventually, they found Lux's cell. He was passed out on a table in a room not too far from Ahsoka's room. The room was much smaller than Kal's had been, and there was really nothing in it except for a medical counter.

He helped Ahsoka over to him, and she sat down on the end of the table by Lux's feet.

Kal shook him gently. "Psst, Dad. Wake up. I brought someone here to see you."

Lux stirred and opened his eyes. He was awake immediately when it registered that it was Kal. "Kal?" He threw his arms around him. "Thank the force you're alive. I was so worried of what they'd do to you, especially given that you were her son and everything."

"It's good to see you too, Dad. I brought someone with me that I thought you might know." Kal gestured towards Ahsoka. 

The color drained from Lux's face, making him look like he'd seen a ghost. And in a way, he had. "Kal," he started, his voice shaking, "who is this?"

"It's mum, right?" He didn't understand why his father wasn't jumping with joy.

"No, Kal. Mum's dead. This is something else."

"But I read her datapad! It said it was her!"

Ahsoka cleared her throat. "I don't want to cause any trouble, especially since I don't know either of you."

Kal looked back and forth between them. He had tried to do a good thing, but apparently no one appreciated it. "I'm sorry, Dad. I thought you'd want to see her again."

"And I do, more than anything. But I watched the lightsaber pass right through her stomach. I watched the spark of life leave her eyes. I watched as half my family was taken away in a matter of seconds. I learned to live without her while raising you for 14 years. It's been 8 since she was killed, Kal. I refuse to believe that she's still alive."

Kal placed a hand on Ahsoka's stomach after a long period of silence. "Who's is it? Do you know?"

The door opened, and Dr. Pestis chuckled to himself. "The lab's."

A/N: heheheheHEHEHEHEHE How 'bout that chapter, eh? I told you it was about to start getting crazy. There was a bit of foreshadowing in there, too. Maybe you caught it XD

This chapter was originally going to have a flashback in it, but I decided against it. I wanted to drop a few more hints about what the heck has been going on with Ahsoka all this time, so.... We'll get to the fluff later. That's a promise ;)

HOW MANY HEARTS DID I BREAK WHEN LUX DIDN'T GET ALL EMOTIONAL WITH AHSOKA THERE AND EVERYTHING??? Hopefully not too many. Contrary to popular belief, I love my readers :)

But seriously though. When I was first planning it out, I wanted the Lux/Ahsoka reunion to be a bit more warm and fuzzy. After giving it some thought, I decided against it (obviously). Why? I lost my dad to a stroke just over 2 years ago. I would love to have him back because we were really close and everything, but not having him around has given me a different perspective on life that I don't think I ever would've had had he not passed away.

Words can't explain the feeling when someone dies literally right in front of you and there's nothing you could do to help them. It's a commonality between Lux and me here. Given the fact that Lux has lost both of his parents, Steela, and Saw (at this point he's already dead), it's reasonable to say that he assumed dead people stay dead and nothing is going to change that.

On a happier note, Ahsoka's pregnant! I wonder what this means for our trio... or should I say quartet... What did the doctor mean by "the lab's"? Who's baby is it really? Is it a boy or a girl? Is he/she a Bonteri-Tano? I don't know! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  (Actually, I do. But you don't. MWAHAHAHAHA)

This week on "I Can't Draw a Straight Line to Save My Life" I have a map of the lab. It's very basic and not to scale, but it should help with getting your bearings.

Kal's and Lux's cells would be examples of the general detainment rooms. You don't get to see the second floor yet because we haven't quite reached the point in the story where it becomes relevant XD

I'll see you in the next update, and may the force be with you!