Anakin knelt on the deck, the holocron positioned before him. He heard Rex's transmission but didn't respond.
Under the influence of the Force, the holocron slowly levitated from the ground, emitting a brilliant blue light from within the cube. After the holocron opened, Bane inserted the memory crystal he'd obtained from Master Ropal into its center.
The activated holocron floated into Bane's waiting hands. "My employer will be most satisfied."
Anakin, however, had endured enough of kneeling before this despicable bounty hunter. He used the Force to summon both his and Ahsoka's lightsabers. Igniting both blades simultaneously, Anakin sliced through the B2 super battle droids.
Suddenly, Bane activated the airlock controls and Ahsoka barely managed to grab onto a protruding section of bulkhead as massive decompression began expelling air from the chamber. Anakin quickly deactivated the ray shield and was also caught in the vacuum, grabbing the opposite wall for support.
Bane used his boot thrusters to escape quickly, and Ahsoka was nearly pulled into space until her Master extended his hand for her to grasp.
Managing to hit the emergency door controls, the blast doors sealed behind them and both collapsed to the deck. After removing his apprentice's restraints and returning her lightsaber, they fled as the ship shook more violently, ready to break apart at any moment.
"Rex, I'm en route," Anakin finally responded. "I hope you've found transport in this floating scrapyard, or we'll all go down with it."
"We were waiting for you, General," Rex reported. "We've secured a shuttle in the hangar, though some droids are trying to intercept us."
"We're on our way, Rex," Ahsoka responded before Anakin could reply.
"Ahsoka, we need to recover that holocron," Anakin insisted.
"Master, we can't," Ahsoka protested. "We don't have time—everyone aboard will die."
Anakin stopped running, considering what Ahsoka had said and reflecting on her recent actions and growth. Anakin sighed. "You're right, my Padawan. Let's get out of here."
They navigated through the corridors and reached the hangar just in time to see the clones and Avengers eliminating the remaining battle droids.
From an elevated platform, Anakin and Ahsoka watched in surprise as a clone trooper they didn't recognize shot down what appeared to be Cad Bane, causing the bounty hunter to fall and disappear behind a stack of cargo containers.
"Come on, let's evacuate," War Machine called to the two Jedi, waving them toward the shuttle.
"Are you alright there, trooper?" Anakin asked. "Did you manage to retrieve the holocron?"
"Negative, sir," the clone replied in a muffled voice.
"I can get it," Ahsoka offered, starting to leap down, but Anakin stopped her.
"We don't have time, Ahsoka," Anakin said firmly.
Ahsoka looked down in frustration as the shuttle departed just as the Separatist cruiser finally began its death throes.
Aboard the transport, Ahsoka noticed her Master deep in troubled thought.
"Master?"
"You okay, kid?"
Ahsoka and Anakin turned to Spider-Man, who had removed his mask and was wincing noticeably.
"I'm not sure," Spider-Man said, tapping his head repeatedly.
"You look like you have a headache," Echo observed.
"I... don't think this is a headache," Spider-Man said uncertainly. "It's something else entirely."
What the others failed to notice was that the unidentified clone trooper remained slightly apart from the group.
The shuttle flew into the waiting Resolute. Alongside were two additional Venator-class Star Destroyers from Luminara's fleet, which were systematically destroying the remnants of the Separatist fleet Bane had commandeered.
Upon landing in the hangar, Anakin and Ahsoka disembarked to meet Admiral Yularen.
"So, did you manage to recover the holocron?" Yularen inquired. "Or capture the bounty hunter?"
"No, sir. Neither," Anakin admitted with obvious shame.
"I see," Yularen replied flatly, then walked away in obvious displeasure.
Anakin turned to where War Machine and Ahsoka were waiting.
"So what now?" War Machine asked. "We didn't accomplish our objectives."
"At least the holocron hasn't fallen into Separatist hands. It was destroyed with Cad Bane when that frigate exploded," Ahsoka said with a shrug. As soon as she mentioned the despised Bane, Ahsoka fell into self-recrimination.
"Master, I'm sorry. I acted rashly and put myself in an impossible situation," Ahsoka said dejectedly. "If it weren't for my mistakes—"
"Ahsoka, this isn't your fault," Anakin said firmly.
"It was my error from start to finish. I'll learn from this experience."
War Machine shrugged. "That would be wise."
"Can't you give us some space?" Anakin snapped irritably.
"Uh, Mr. Skywalker," Spider-Man emerged from the shuttle looking confused.
"Parker? What's wrong?"
"Do you know what this green substance is?" Spider-Man asked, pointing toward the shuttle's interior.
"What green substance?" Anakin asked, puzzled, then moved toward the transport.
"This..." Spider-Man hesitated. "It looks like blood."
"Green blood?" War Machine asked with confusion.
Entering the shuttle, they found Fives, Pietro, and Rex examining a spot where several drops of the green substance Spider-Man had identified were visible.
"What is it, Rex?" Anakin asked.
"It's definitely blood," Rex confirmed, "but it certainly didn't come from any of our people."
Anakin seemed to realize something. He suddenly looked up, rushed from the shuttle, searched frantically around the hangar, and located the unidentified trooper—or more accurately, a suspicious figure wearing clone armor.
"Stop that clone!" Anakin shouted across the hangar, pointing at the false trooper who immediately began fleeing while deploying smoke grenades.
Brief chaos erupted in the hangar as smoke filled the entire area.
"Master?" Ahsoka rushed out in alarm.
"It's Bane!" Anakin declared, running directly into the smoke.
Pietro accelerated past him, circling multiple times to disperse the smoke, revealing the disguised Bane knocking down several clones before one managed to strike him and dislodge his helmet.
Bane threw additional grenades, explosions echoed throughout the bay, and several LAAT gunships were caught in the fiery chaos.
Pietro rushed forward to rescue endangered clones while War Machine and Anakin pursued Bane.
Anakin couldn't reach him in time as Bane had already commandeered a Republic gunship, but this didn't deter War Machine.
"Rhodes, he still has the holocron!" Anakin called out as the bounty hunter departed the hangar.
War Machine's blaster fire tracked the bounty hunter, but Bane proved cunningly evasive, activating his thrusters, reversing direction, and sweeping past War Machine to position himself behind the Avenger.
Two missiles launched at the armored hero, and War Machine dodged them desperately.
Anakin immediately contacted Admiral Yularen.
"Admiral, initiate hyperspace interdiction immediately!" Anakin ordered. "It's Bane—he's escaping in one of our gunships!"
War Machine managed to destroy the pursuing missiles just in time, but watching Bane enter hyperspace, he could only observe helplessly as the bounty hunter escaped.
"Damn it!" War Machine exclaimed in frustration.
"What do we do now?" Ahsoka asked her Master.
Anakin could only exhale in defeat. "We inform the Council."