In that moment, they both came to the same realization.
This duel was over before it started.
It was over before before Ahsoka even landed on Mandalore, it was over before Vader sensed her presence on the volcanic planet, it was over before the sith lord ever donned a black mask.
Ahsoka was doomed long before any of that. Her fate was sealed the minute she became Anakin Skywalker's padawan.
Her presence, her face, just her name brought the sith lord back to another time. A time of war, of destruction, of unspeakable horrors. Yet it had been the happiest time of both their lives. They had been family, he was the closest thing to father she had ever known. Both of them had risked their lives for each other countless times without a second thought.
But now Ahsoka, who fearlessly stood before her old master, was nothing more than a reminder of all he had lost. Yet when Vader looked at her, he did not only feel anger. There was something else- another emotion that he would not acknowledge until nearly a decade later. Pride.
Like him, Ahsoka was a survivor. She endured, she suffered, and yet she survived. He taught his padawan well. Ahsoka survived a life without the jedi order, she survived Order 66, she survived every danger the Empire threw her way.
But now, it was her destiny to die at her master's hands.
Vader had offered her mercy, she had refused, and he knew that was final. There was no point trying to convince her otherwise. He had been her master, after all.
Everything she knew, he had taught her.
"Why do you only teach me techniques for fighting larger opponents?" The togruta crossed her arms in annoyance. "It's an insult to my height."
"Well, little one, if you ever find yourself in duel with someone smaller than you, let me know!" Her master smiled at his padawan's frustration.
Vader was taller than Anakin, Ahsoka noticed. And the sheer strength of his mechanical limbs were no match for her.
He recognized every tactic Ahsoka used against him. The way she took every opportunity to find higher ground, in hopes of seeming taller than she actually was. The way she used acrobatic tricks in attempt to confuse him. The way she reversed her grip when the fight wasn't going her way.
It wasn't going her way at all.
Ahsoka had expected Anakin's fighting style to be different, she figured three new mechanical limbs would require some changes in technique. But Vader was almost inhuman, pure rage in every swing. As a padawan she always sensed Anakin holding back in their sparring sessions, and even while battling Dooku, or Ventress, or whatever sith lord was the flavor of the week. Now Ahsoka knew exactly what her former master had been keeping under lock and key as a jedi: his raw, insatiable anger.
She was running on fumes. The sith lord was able to predict her every move. And he knew she was tired. So incredibly tired.
Ahsoka had been fighting nearly all her life. Fighting for peace, for the galaxy, for her friends, for survival. This fight was different. She didn't have a chance, she never had a chance.
She always knew she would die fighting.
"You're 16 years old Snips, stop thinking about how you're going to die." There was humor in her master's voice, but also concern, and even fear. He wanted more than anything to be able to guarantee that Ahsoka would live to see tomorrow. But he couldn't.
Ahsoka was running out of time. Vader was a powerhouse, all she could do was deflect and dodge his advantages. With each passing second, she felt her body grow weaker. He was backing her into a corner.
Their conversation had ceased. Partly because all their energies were focused on the duel, and partly because Vader's voice was no longer altered by his mask. Any words he spoke were knives in his former padawan's heart. This wasn't Darth Vader, lord of the sith, dictator of the galaxy, who was trying to kill her. This was Anakin Skywalker, the man who she admired, who she loved, who she would have followed to the ends of the galaxy.
It all happened too fast, she could barely process it. One moment she was alive, her heart pumping blood and her lungs breathing air and then...
There was no bright light, no memories flashing before her eyes.
Just a red lightsaber through her chest, right under her collarbone.
She let go, and the force welcomed her like an old friend.
Ahsoka closed her eyes and stopped fighting.
Vader looked away as her body crumbled to the ground. He allowed himself one thought. Just one, for his fallen padawan.
She died as she lived- fearless.