In the End {1}

xx: Clarity

Ahsoka had no idea what time it was when she woke up the next morning. She untangled herself from Lux's arms and sat up, rubbing her eyes.

Lux stirred, and she instantly regretted leaving his embrace. He sat up beside her and cupped her face in his hands. Their eyes met for a moment, and he leant down to kiss her.

She flinched slightly when their lips met. Where had that come from? She swore under her breath. Even now, in the arms of the man she loved, Nyx was still finding ways to mess with her head.

Lux immediately backed off. "Sorry," he muttered.

"Don't be. It's just..." It was going to take some time for her to push her experience with Nyx from the front of her mind. Nyx was a part of her past just as much as the Jedi Order was, and as long as she kept him in the past, he wouldn't impact her life in the future. At least, she hoped he wouldn't.

"You don't have to say anything," Lux said. "I understand."

The last thing she wanted was for him to be afraid to kiss her, so she pressed her lips to his, focusing on the way his warm, soft lips felt against hers. It was gentle, tender, and passionate—nothing like how Nyx had kissed her. Lux was perfectly happy to oblige, kissing her back with fervor easily rivaling her own.

She rested her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around him. "I love you. I can't believe I was stupid enough to let this go."

"I love you, too, sweetheart. Don't worry. I'm never letting you go again."

As soon as Ahsoka was discharged from the hospital, she was on her way to Nyx's apartment. Lux had insisted that he go with her, just in case, but she was more than capable of defending herself. Besides, she really didn't want to drag him into drama with her soon-to-be ex-boyfriend. This was something she had to do herself.

She opened the door with the spare key Nyx had given her when they first started dating. After closing the door behind her, she marched straight to his bedroom, where he spent most of his time when he was home.

She opened the door, but there was no one inside. She checked the bathroom and the other rooms in the apartment with no success. "Nyx?" she called out. No response.

She rolled her eyes. Of course the one time he wasn't home was when she actually needed to talk to him. A note would just have to suffice for now.

She opened the top drawer of his dresser where he kept all of his office supplies. After picking up a few notebooks, she came across a notepad that would work. She grabbed a pen and closed the drawer.

Her stomach tightened. Something wasn't right. She glanced at the notebook again, this time with a more critical eye. It seemed almost familiar. A chill ran down her pine, and her vision went dark.

Darkness. Lux, Anakin, and Barriss were on their knees in front of Ahsoka, gagged and tied up. An image of herself stood beside each one of them.

The Ahsoka behind Barriss stepped forward, and morphed into Nyx.

"This wasn't the deal!" Barriss yelled desperately.

"You weren't enough for me, Ahsoka Zora Tano," Nyx said with an evil smile. "What makes you think you'll be enough to save them?"

She threw the notebook across the room, snapping back to reality.

"Holy kriff..."

How could she have been so stupid? Meeting Nyx hadn't been an accident. She was his prey that night, and the only reason she was still alive was so that he could use her for his own personal pleasure and to get to others like Maggie, Ventress, Jaryn, and Barriss.