"You have to tell her, Anakin," Obi-Wan told him gently. "She deserves to know."
"Deserves to know that she died?" Anakin frowned at him.
"She deserves to know what you did to protect her, to save her," Obi-Wan replied softly. Anakin looked at the floor. They were sitting in the common room Anakin and Ahsoka's quarters at the temple. They had returned to Coruscant almost immediately to report to the council what had happened on the planet Mortis. Astounded by the news, the council had ordered them not to tell anyone of the strange planet. However, Anakin hadn't told the council of Ahsoka's death at the hands of the son and resurrection by the daughter, until after Ahsoka had left. He knew she didn't fully understand or remember what had happened on the planet, but he wasn't inclined to tell her either. Obi-Wan, however, had other ideas.
"She's your Padawan," Obi-Wan continued. "You have to make the decision. But she has a right to know what happened to her. I know she's been asking about it." Anakin sighed; that much was true. The door swished open behind them.
"Hello Master Obi-Wan," Ahsoka greeted him cheerfully.
"Greetings, young one," Obi-Wan smiled at the Togruta.
"Hi-ya, Sn...Ahsoka," Anakin called over his shoulder.
"I got some more food from the mess hall, Master," Ahsoka told him as she walked into their kitchenette. "Try not to eat it all in a day, okay?" She smirked at Anakin as she came to join them in the common room.
"Still have quite the appetite, huh, Anakin?" Obi-Wan raised a teasing eyebrow at him.
"No more than you, old man," Anakin replied easily. Obi-Wan frowned.
"How am I an old man, I'm barely a decade older than you," he protested.
"Closer to two decades," Anakin argued. Obi-Wan sighed.
"Well, I must be going. I will see you two later," he moved towards the door, but not before giving Anakin a pointed look. Anakin frowned at him exasperatedly. Ahsoka was quick to notice the exchange.
"What are you keeping from me?" she asked as soon as Obi-Wan left.
"Who said I was keeping anything from you?" Anakin frowned, turning towards her.
"That look you and Master Obi-Wan shared," Ahsoka replied, raising an eye marking. Anakin sighed.
"Ahsoka, come here," Anakin patted the couch next to him. Ahsoka looked surprised, but sat next to him.
"What do you remember about Mortis?" he asked.
"I remember...we tried to leave. But something went wrong. Then I woke up on the ground and you wouldn't tell me what happened. Then you confronted the son…," she trailed off. "What happened that I can't remember?" Anakin stared at the ground.
"The son abducted you from the ship when we tried to leave," Anakin began. Ahsoka looked surprised, but didn't say anything. "Somehow, he enslaved you under him. Like he did me."
"You mean I...joined him? Master, I wouldn't do that, I…," Ahsoka protested. Anakin put a hand on her shoulder.
"I know you wouldn't, Sn...Ahsoka," Anakin assured her. "He had you under his control. How, I don't know, but he was very strong in the dark side of the force. I don't think you joined him willingly, I think he forced you. Like he somehow did me." Anakin frowned. The father had told him that the son had showed him something that broke the laws of time. What, Anakin wasn't sure. The father had erased it from his memory. But somehow, whatever the son had shown Anakin had made him join the son.
"So...how did you break his control?" Ahsoka asked tentatively. Anakin was silent for a moment.
"Are you proud of me, Master?" a silky, strange voice asked him. Anakin started in surprise.
"What?" he frowned. "Uh, of course, Snips, of course I'm proud of you, now let's get out of here."
"He's right. Right about everything. You must join him. He only wants what's best for the universe." Ahsoka tilted her head strangely, her tone odd.
"Hey, what's wrong with you?'
"Always with the criticism, Master, never really believing in me, trusting me!"
"SkyGuy?" Ahsoka looked at him with concern.
"We didn't break his control," Anakin replied softly. Ahsoka frowned.
"I don't understand," she looked up at him, confused. Anakin sighed, turning to face her. He stared into those big, blue eyes, and winced when he recalled the moment he had seen those eyes yellow with hate, hate for him.
"I don't want to fight you, Ahsoka." Ahsoka kicked him back, knocking his lightsaber away.
"And now, the student will kill the master!"
"I found you in the son's citadel. You were under his control. He made you fight me. You told me that the son had threatened to kill you if I didn't join him. I told you that I wouldn't let him. So he forced you to fight me, trying to force me to kill you." Ahsoka looked down at her hands.
"I'm sorry, Ahsoka," Anakin whispered. "I should've…"
"It wasn't your fault," Ahsoka replied softly, not looking at him. They were silent for a moment.
"What happened?" she asked after a moment.
"The blade the father stabbed him with. Obi-Wan had gotten it from an altar of some sort. You took it from me, and gave it to the son," Anakin told her. Ahsoka winced.
"Give it to me, child," the son sneered, holding out his hand.
"Ahsoka, no!" Anakin shouted. Ahsoka glanced back at him, her grip tightening on the dagger. She placed it into the son's hand.
"The son killed you," Anakin whispered. Ahsoka's head jerked up.
"What? But that's impossible! I'm right here, he couldn't have…"
"He did. He tried to stab his father, but the daughter took the blow instead. He flew off, and the daughter used me as a conduit to resurrect you just before she died," Anakin explained. Ahsoka froze. She stared at him in horror. Anakin glanced away.
"I'm so sorry, Ahsoka," he whispered. "When the son took you...I should have tried harder to stop him. When I thought you were dead...I was heartbroken. I didn't know what I would have done had you not woken up." Ahsoka slumped against the back of the couch.
"Ahsoka?" Anakin placed a hand on her shoulder. "Please, say something."
"It's just a lot to process. I..died," Ahsoka looked shell-shocked.
"It's my job to protect you, and I failed, and I can't tell you how sorry I am you had to go through that, Sn...Ahsoka," he told her.
"Why won't you call me Snips anymore?" Ahsoka frowned up at him suddenly. "You haven't since Mortis." Anakin winced.
"Getting a little ahead of yourself, aren't ya, Snips?" Anakin blocked her lightsaber.
"Don't call me that! I hate it when you call me that!" Ahsoka roared in anger at him.
Anakin opened his eyes, his expression one of pain.
"What did I say?" Ahsoka asked softly.
"You said you hated it when I called you that," Anakin whispered. Ahsoka reached out, squeezing his hand.
"I'm sorry," she told him. "I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to fight the son's control. I'm sorry I hurt you. I never meant to."
"No, it wasn't your fault, Padawan," Anakin told her vehemently. "It was mine, I…"
"It wasn't yours either!" Ahsoka protested. "I know you did everything you could. And you saved my life. I...I didn't deserve that, I tried..." Anakin whirled towards her, putting his hands on her shoulders.
"Don't you ever say that again!" he ordered her fiercely. Ahsoka's eyes widened in surprised.
"You deserved it more than anyone I know. I would die to protect you, Ahsoka. Don't ever doubt how much you mean to me, or how worthy you are to be a Jedi," Anakin told her firmly. Ahsoka glanced down.
"I've...been having dreams. Flashes of a fight...against you," she whispered. "Now I know what they're from. I...I tried to kill you, master." A tear slipped from her eye. Anakin pulled her into a hug.
"You weren't in control. It wasn't your fault," he assured her, rubbing her back gently. Ahsoka curled closer against him, sobbing slightly.
"Shh," Anakin soothed. "It's okay, Padawan. It's okay, you're safe now. It's alright." He held her for a minute, soothing and comforting her as she cried against his shoulder.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
"You have nothing to be sorry for," Anakin told her, pulling back to look her in the eye. She smiled at him.
"Neither do you," she told him firmly. He raised an eyebrow, then nodded. Her smile broadened and he gave her a small smile in return.
"Just don't go and scare me like that again," he told her, trying to sound lighthearted and teasing. But Ahsoka heard the faint note of desperation in his voice.
"Were you really that scared?" she asked softly.
"I was terrified," he admitted, swallowing. "I don't know what I would do without you, my Padawan." She smiled gratefully and leaned against him.
"Call me Snips," she told him. Anakin looked at her in surprise.
"Are you sure?" he asked her.
"Yes," she said firmly. "It wasn't me talking. It was the son."
"If you're sure," he nodded.
"I am," she replied. That's your special name for me. No one else can call me Snips, she told him through the bond. It...it makes me feel...wanted. Loved and accepted. When you first called me Snips, I thought it was a criticism. When you kept saying it, I thought it meant you didn't want me. But then I realized it was your way of showing that you accepted me even though I was snippy and reckless. I...I love it when you call me that, Master. Anakin looked down at his young Padawan, this young, determined, fierce girl who had changed his life for the better. His little sister and his daughter, one of the few people he saw as family. He sent her his gratitude, love, and pride through the bond, as well as his joy at hearing her say that. She returned the emotions, hiding her face against his shoulder. He grinned.
"It's good to have you back, Snips."