"Padawan, is she still talking to Ventress?" Shaak Ti asked as she approached Ahsoka. "Yes, unfortunately. How is your shoulder master?" "Just fine. Master Unduli has gained consciousness?" Ahsoka nodded and lead Shaak Ti to the other Jedi. 

While Reetha and Ventress disappeared to have their little talk, the droids were ordered to stop firing. The clones, as well as the Jedi were not sitting well with this. The situation was tense. neither parties pulled the trigger, but the clones were on edge. Having battle droids standing and looking at you from several feet ahead in almost dead silence is quite disturbing. 

The three Jedi and two clone commanders from the Coruscant guard were discussing their next move on the droids, when suddenly a loud and sickening crack teared their attention. 

"Don't. Lie. To. ME!" Reetha pushed Ventress away with the force, sending the Dathomarian flying backwards and landing harshly on the ground. "Mistress! Are you alright?" although it was just looking out for its master, it got to close to Ventress as she stabbed her lightsaber right thorough its body. "Do NOT fire!" Ventress instructed the droids as she struggled to stand up. One of her legs bending in an unnatural way.

Reetha calmly walked through the wall she broke when she sent Ventress flying back. "YOU LIE VENTRESS! It's what you do! My master would never lie to me!" she screamed.

"Reetha! You-" "Ahsoka! Do not engage the enemy. Don't fire." Reetha cut Ahsoka's sentence. Ahsoka's brows furrowed. Something's wrong here. "You feel it to padawan." 

Luminara placed a hand on Ahsoka's shoulder's. "The dark side surrounds her." Shaak Ti added in. "Ma'am, what are your orders?" A clone asked. "Do not fire, commander. Ask you troops to stand down." Shaak Ti turned to the commander. "For the time being." 

Reetha drew closer to Ventress, dangerously twirling her lightsaber as she walked. "Look at you. Pathetic!" Ventress spat. This only made Reetha angry. She balled a fist and used the force to carry Ventress by her neck. "Padawan! Don't act out of frustration!" Shaak Ti shouted out but only for Reetha to ignore her. Gasps could be heard from the clones as they were surprised as the young Jedi's sudden darkened demeanor. 

"Pathetic? I'm pathetic? You dare come here, on your masters bidding, only to lie to me about my master, MY MASTER!" Ventress gagged as she tried to grasp at her neck, unable to breathe. Reetha dropped Ventress hard to the ground. 

The sound of Reetha's lighsabers digging into the metal floor beside Ventress' head, made Ventress to ignite her own sabers in self defense. Ventress pushed herself to stand as she locked sabers with Reetha. "Don't you see it, padawan!" She hissed out loud. "Your hatred is so natural to you. Your anger is your true source of power!" 

Reetha had enough of Ventress' manipulation. "I am a Jedi! I am nothing like you scum! If Dooku was sure of my legacy, my power, why didn't he come here!" Reetha pushed her lightsabers onto Ventress' with such power that it sent one of the red blades flying away. 

"I am aligned with the light and will always be!" She said as she brought her lightsaber against Ventress'. "I protect the peace!" 

With every sentence she spoke, Reetha's stikes became harder and more aggressive. "My powers do not come from the Sith! It can't" A tear slipped down her eye. Anger coursed through her veins, it burned its way into her. "I am not made to exist by s-some Sith lord!" Reetha kicked Ventress' broken leg making her scream and crumple to the cold metal floor. 

"Padawan! Stop it now!" Reetha could hear the Jedi masters plea. But how could she not be angry. After all it was what Ventress had shown her. Ventress was now in the mercy of the young padawan. If Ventress had not known how powerful indeed Reetha was, she would've never allowed her to reach even an ounce of her true potential. But all is as the force wills.

 Ventress now sat at Reetha's feet, felt fear like never before. Reetha raised her lightsaber high, the dark side now for the first time nearly consuming her entirely, prepared to erase Ventress from existence. "No! Please!" Ventress begged. Reetha eyed Ventress through her burning iris. "You deserve none!" 

--------

"Now, child. I will show you what my master wants you to know." Ventress sat down in the room that herself and Reetha entered to have their 'talk'. "You said you wanted to talk." Reetha asked skeptically. 

"And here we are. Now, sit. My master knows about who you are, well, what you are." Reetha didn't reply, but cautiously sat in front of Ventress. "You have been a Jedi for as long as you have known, yes?" Ventress asked while looking directly into Reetha's eyes. Reetha stared back, not answering. 

Ventress sighed "My master understands you, young one. How many times have the Jedi shown their acceptance toward you, hmm? The other padawan's, what do they think about your 'power', this ability of yours?" Ventress paused. 

Deep down, Reetha figured what Ventress was doing. "It's true. I hadn't had the best of my youngling years. Not all the Jedi understand me, but they still treat me as their equal." Reetha defended. "But do you really believe that? Do they really believe that?" 

When Reetha didn't reply, Ventress extended her hand to Reetha. "You must know what my master has to say." "I won't fall for your tricks Sith!" Ventress, still not giving up, kept her hand extended. "You do not trust me?" The fake hurt evident in her voice. 

"Why don't you search my mind padawan. See if I'm the stone cold liar that you accuse me of being." Without hesitance, Reetha focused on the force to the assassin in front of her. The force surrounded Ventress, penetrating her. 

Reetha searched her mind, just waiting for a falter in her barrier to prove that Ventress was indeed trying to manipulate her, but, it never came. Reetha's eyes widened in astonishment. 

"Now do you see, padawan. I am telling the truth, aren't I" Reetha gulped as she slowly reached out to grasp Ventress hand. Her heart pounding in her chest as adrenaline rushed into her veins. The moment the two connected hands, Reetha let out a gasp as her vision was immediately replaced with visions from the past. 

Voices echoed from all around the room. Reetha's eye's retreated back into her skull as the vision began to play a long lost story, one Reetha would not believe. One she refused to believe. The vision ended and Reetha collapsed  heavily on the floor. She breathed heavily. Her eyes widely opened, a small stringing sensation on her eyes. Anger, hate, betrayal, sadness. 

-----------

"Stop this now Padawan Khan." Luminara's lightsaber pushed against Reetha's. Reetha looked up to the Jedi master in rage. "Don't stop me! She deserves to die!" Luminara pushed Reetha back with the force, slightly.

 Shaak Ti moved quietly behind Reetha, activating her own lightsaber. The situation was very tense. " The assassin has manipulated you young one." she spoke, taking defensive pose, as Reetha began to engage the two Jedi masters.

Ventress saw that she was no longer in danger and called out to her droids. "Retreat now!"

"Leaving so soon?" Ahsoka called out. Ventress snarled "My master's work here is done!" She began to limp off to a nearby transport that some of the droids were in. "Commander, gun down those droids." She said as she ran off to get Ventress. "Sir, yes sir! Men, open fire now!" A chorus of shouts cried out as the clone began to shoot the droids. Soon, the temple's entrance was in an active battle zone. 

Ahsoka used to force to pull on Ventress' arm making her stumble. Ventress summoned her lightsaber as prepared to fight. "What did you do to Reetha?" "I only told her the truth. The truth that the Jedi should have told her long ago!" Ahsoka heard enough as she ran and swung her lightsabera at Ventress. 

Reetha came crushing down on Shaak Ti, only for the togruta to out maneuver her. "Has my life in the temple been a lie?" Reetha cried. Her attacks getting sloppy as the dark side drained too much of her energy. Shaak Ti shared a look to Luminara, both coming to an understanding of what might have happened. "Am I made to exist by some Sith? Am I Sith?" Reetha screamed as she tried to attack the Jedi.

 Shaak Ti saw how weary the padawan had become. "All will be explained soon, Reetha. But you must stop fighting." The Jedi's reply only seemed to anger her more, but Reetha was worn and tired. The immense energy it took to channel the dark side was taxing.

 "The Jedi lied about me, didn't they?" Reetha now breathing heavily. She dropped on one knee. "We did not lie, Reetha." Luminara spoke gently. Reetha closed her eyes and let rage consume her again. Her now dull eyes looked to the two Jedi. She drew her lightsaber and engaged them again.

Ahsoka pressed on her attack but the droids from the transport were firing onto her. Several clones had taken post behind her, firing back at the droids. A shot made its way passed Ahsoka and hit a clone in the shoulder. She fell back to protect him. 

"Commander, we can't hold on any longer. Our number's are depleting severely." The commander spoke as he took a bulls eye to a droid. "We have many injured. I don't know how long more we can hold our ground." "We need to fall back. Retreat to the front hallway. We'll be save there." Ahsoka commanded while deflecting several shots away from her and slowly leading the retreat.

----

"Master Windu, we need your back up. W-we need- fight- ...." Unduli's voice kept breaking off the comm on Mace's wrist. "They seem to be in deep poodoo." Anakin nodded to the comm. The two Jedi had woke from their daze not too long ago, but getting Mace out of the rubble was a big problem. 

"I believe Master's Ti and Unduli have engaged the enemy. They are goin to need our help, Skywalker." Anakin nodded to Mace "And by enemy, you mean Ventress." adding in an eyeroll. "Perfect!" 

The two Jedi ran towards the temple entrance only to be greeted by a battle nearly lost. On one side, Ahsoka was trying to prevent Ventress from escaping and at the same time leading a retreat, as the clone numbers were decreasing by the near second. 

On the other hand, Shaak Ti and Unduli were in a heated battle with a certain padawan. "Skywalker, assist Padawan Tano!" Mace ordered before running of to assist the other two female Jedi. 

------

Unduli braced herself as she waited for a strike from Reetha. However, before the padawan's lightsaber could meet its mark, she was pushed and held down by Mace. 

"LET ME GO!" Reetha squirmed. "I SAID, LET! ME! GO!" Mace didn't plan to stop. "You will cease your fighting, Padawan Khan." Mace said with a commanding voice. Reetha strained under the force hold, but her eyes locked dead into Mace's own. 

The older Jedi's face fell when he noticed Reetha's tear stained face, her swollen eyes and the most heart breaking thing he noticed, were her reddening iris, a sign that a Jedi had either been poisoned or fallen into the dark side. 

Mace knew that Reetha was an exceptional Jedi, and would grow to be a powerful warrior in the force. "Padawan" He called out softly. "Get-get away from me!" She hissed. Master Ti and Master Unduli were on the ready incase Reetha were to fight back. "Padawan, I know that the choice to give in to the dark side, was not your will." Mace reached out a hand to her but she recoiled. 

"Khan. Please, let me help you." "NO! No, I don't want your help. The Jedi are the reason my master died, the Jedi are the reason I'm unable to let go of my guilt. The JEDI, ARE THE REASON I HAVE NO CONTROL OF MY OWN POWER!" 

The anger swelling inside her allowed her to escape from Mace's force hold. She stood up and reached out for her lightsaber but collapsed on her hands in the process. When Mace noticed this, he signaled the other Jedi to lower their weapons.

 "Tell me" a whisper came from Reetha. "Tell me, please. Am I, a creation of the Sith?" She whimpered, forcing her eyes to meet Master Windu's. Mace debated in his mind for a moment. He felt through the force, that Reetha had been exposed to a truth that the Jedi wanted to keep away from her. At the same time, she was already old enough to know, but the council had not agreed to reveal the truth to her. 

Reetha waited for Mace's reply but when it never came, she broke down into a sob. She curled into herself, allowing her to rid of her pain. Mace cautiously but calmly placed a hand on Reetha's shoulders. This was a talent not many Jedi posessed, he thought to himself, that if he ever had to use it, it would be now, more than ever. 

He focused in the force and allowed the light side to flow freely through him. The force seeped through his finger tips and unto Reetha. He was cleansing her from the dark side. Slowly but surely, bring Reetha back to the light.

 Reetha's breath slowed down, her hands that clutched to her skull loosened as her body began to relax. She could feel the burning sensation in her body disappear and immediately as it left, she felt extremely weak. The consequences of the dark side of the force. 

"M-master" she spoke, barely above a whisper. Reetha carried her eyes to meet Master Windu's. "Don't worry young one. Your safe now." At Mace's words, the last bit of red in her iris had vanished and was restored to her light green ones.

 Reetha's vision and hearing blurred. The distant sound of blasters, swinging lightsabers, and metal against metal, rang in her mind in an unpleasant manner. Her head lulled back, and she fell into unconsciousness. "It is time, we tell her the truth." 

-----

The entirety of the battle ended soon after. Ventress managed to escape once again. The remainder of the droid army on Coruscant had been destroyed. Now, the former battle ground was being cleaned. While Shaak Ti and and Master Unduli were helping out the clones with the cleaning process, Master Windu had requested to speak with Anakin and Ahsoka.

"You know about what happened, Skywalker." Mace stated as a matter of fact. Anakin nodded. 

"You are aware that she had to be exposed to the truth." Anakin closed his eyes and nodded. Ahsoka simply stood silent, felling emphatic and worried for her friend. 

"What if she is not ready for this? " Anakin asked. "She is, Skywalker. I want you to give her the medical attention she needs. Let her rest. When she is well, the council will reveal the truth of herself." Without saying anything else, Mace excused himself from the two. 

Anakin kneeled down beside Reetha, examining her many new wounds. "Ventress will pay for what she's done." He growled under his breath. "Master, all we can do for Reetha now, is to support her. I don't think she would be herself after this." Anakin sighed "Your right. We need to be there for her." Anakin comed Rex to ask him to prepare a private med bay for Reetha and he obliged. 

When Reetha was brought to the bay, she was immediately taken into Kix's and the other medics care. "General, how is she?" Rex worriedly asked Anakin as he exited the med bay. "She's, not doing very well, Rex." Anakin sighed, looking through the med bay window. "Kix and the other medics are attending to her wounds. Nothing fatal, but.." Rex raised his eyebrow. "But, what?" 

Anakin nodded to a corner for the two to speak. "Rex, whatever she went through, it was physically taxing." "I'm sure most Jedi are used to that." the clone replied. "But I can tell, that's not all. What is going on with her, general?" Anakin's shoulder's sunk.

 "Rex, she was manipulated to the dark side." 

"Wh-what? How?" 

"Don't panic." Anakin shushed Rex. "What I tell you now, you must not let the others know." 

"You have my word, Sir."

"Alright." Anakin drew a breath before revealing that Ventress and Reetha had a private talk, and that during the talk, she revealed something that Reetha was not prepared to know. "I don't know how she'll be after this." Rex removed his helmet and held his head in his hands. "General, do I have permission to speak my mind?" Anakin nodded.

"How can the Jedi keep such important information, away from her. Reetha deserves to know about her capability, her heritage. Honestly, sir, I can understand why she reacted that way. I mean, to be kept in the dark about her past, and what her power can actually do!" Rex paced up and down the room. "You have to tell me that this is way out of hand, right?" 

Anakin thought for a moment, running his fingers through his hair. Rex was right. Although the Jedi are great beings, not all of their decisions and choices are right. Even Anakin, remembered how many times the Jedi let him down. "I, agree. But I can't do anything. The council wouldn't let me."

"Maybe we can ask General Kenobi about-"

"Ask me what?" Kenobi called of the side. "Master, your here." Anakin hopped of the table he previously sat on. "I came to see Reetha. I heard about what happened. It's, unfortunate." Rex walked up beside Anakin and slightly punched his arm. 

"Uhm, Sir, we have that thing to ask." Anakin looked at Rex questioningly before coming to realization. "Wha- Oh, right. I mean, yeah." 

Obi-wan looked between the two men and folded his arms. "It's about what the council thinks about Reetha, isn't it." The two men nodded. "Sit down, both of you." As the two settled, Obi-Wan began to explain. 

"The council, is divided on the decision if Reetha should be kept in the Order, or barred from it." "What, this is outrages. Clearly, it was not her fault. She was poisoned by the dark side." Anakin defended Reetha. 

"Anakin, I tried to defend Reetha as well, but most of the council members think that she may be to dangerous to be kept in the order. They fear that more harm would come to her if she remained." Rex spoke up next, "And she would be safer on the streets of Coruscant? The Jedi Order is her home" Rex pleaded. Obi-Wan placed his hand to his chin, thoughtfully thinking. "Masters Plo, Ti, a few others and I are trying to defend her." 

"What about the rest of the council?" Anakin asked. Obi-Wan shook his head in reply. "Not good." Anakin and Rex shared a concerned look. "Well, if you ask me" Rex said, placing his helmet back on. 

" I'm not having any of this. Reetha should be kept in the Order, because that is where she would be the safest, and would be able to learn to control her power. With all due respect, generals, the Jedi need to know that. And if she needs a strong alibi, the boys and I aren't going to let her down." 

The three came to an agreement that they would each help defend Reetha. Their only hopes, what that the force is on their side, and Reetha's.