In the End {1}

xxv: Together Again

Ahsoka sat in the copilot's seat, the stars blurring around her as the Nubian cruiser jumped to lightspeed. For the first time since she landed on Mustafar, her heart rate steadied and her racing mind slowed.

She looked to her left, where Anakin sat. Her face lit up. "Master!" She jumped from her chair and into his arms as he stood up and gave her a hug. "You're alive!"

"Good to see you too, Snips," he said. "I knew you'd show up, eventually," he winked.

"How?" she asked. "How did you survive? I watched Nyx kill you!"

"You saw what he wanted you to see. He faked holograms for each person he killed and projected it over the body of someone else for the murders that involved you."

"Is that even possible? I didn't think tech like that existed."

"Me neither. I guess there was more happening on Mustafar than we knew about initially."

Ahsoka crossed her arms. That had been a pretty clever trick on Nyx's end, and she'd fallen for it completely. "That still doesn't explain why I couldn't sense you, though."

"He had all of us in bacta tanks, except instead of bacta, it was a solution made from ysalamiri blood."

Ahsoka thought back to some of her early teachings at the Temple. If memory served her correctly, ysalamiri were a species native to the planet Myrkr that had the ability to repel the force for a particular radius. That explained why Nyx had made a stop on Myrkr. They weren't widely known across the galaxy because their existence wasn't publicized to the masses. She had never come into contact with one until now. The blood alone wouldn't have the same effect as the entire animal would, but apparently it had been enough to shield her friends from her through the force.

"Next time, Skyguy, I'm letting you grill my boyfriend before we find out he's a psychopath Sith assassin."

Anakin laughed. "I don't think I'll have any trouble with that one. Senator Bonteri and I had plenty of time to talk before Padme got to us."

The thought of her master and her ex-boyfriend (now current boyfriend) forcibly confined to the same space for any length of time made her nervous. "Speaking of Senator Bonteri, I think I should go check on him. I haven't talked to him since he died... or, didn't die, I guess." She turned around and walked out of the cockpit while her master sat back down at the controls, a big grin on his face.

She walked through the halls of the ship, looking for Lux. When she passed a sitting area, she saw Ventress and a little Twi'lek girl sitting on the floor taking turns levitating a ball using the force. It was strange to see the former Sith assassin being so amiable with the child, and seeing them getting along reminded Ahsoka that small acts of kindness were just as powerful as some of the grand sieges and battles she'd led as the commander of the 501st.

She wandered around the ship until she reached Padme's quarters. She could sense that Lux was inside, and she had a feeling that Padme had just left.

She opened the door and saw Lux sitting on the bed in front of her.

"Ahsoka!" He exclaimed.

"Lux!"

She ran to him and tackled him on the bed, throwing her arms around him. She kissed him hard on the mouth, feeling the familiar sense of euphoria that washed over her whenever their lips met. He pulled her close to him, keeping up their steady stream of kisses as their limbs twined together. Ahsoka wanted to tell him how glad she was that he was still alive, how much she missed him, how much she loved him. As their kisses grew in intensity, any words she would've said left her mind.