I do not own Star Wars or any of the characters.

Alive

"You will have to choose."

"She thinks I'm the Mother."

"It was always your choice."

"She's both a manifestation of the daughter's power and will, but at the same time, she's also the Daughter herself."

"When it was my turn, it was my choice."

"When the time comes, you will know."

"Taken to the Sith home world."

"Your ancestors were some of the most powerful Jedi to ever live."

"Captured by Bane."

"You're a Shan, right?"

"A place where there was no Light Side. Only the Dark."

"Damian!"

Damian gasped, sitting bolt upright and looking around. He was lying in the corner of the obliterated control room where he had fought Vader, an old matress below him. Ahsoka was beside him, looking worried but completely unscathed. He looked down at himself and saw that he was likewise unharmed, and his helmet was sitting beside him with his and Satele's lightsabers. The helmet was covered in soot and with a scorch mark on the side where Vader had hit it with his lightsaber, but also unharmed. Around Damian and his bed, the floor wad blackened and scorched from the explosion, except for a rounded, oval-shaped section where Damian was, where he'd apparently blocked the explosion the entire time. He remembered the light, and remembered his control over the Force ending before the explosion. So he was confused as to why he was alive.

Before he could consider it for long, however, Ahsoka was kissing him and sobbing, her arms around his neck and joy all but shining from her. Damian kissed her back, glad she wasn't hurt after she had disappeared. However, he got the feeling he hadn't been sleeping for a short amount of time. Finally, Ahsoka pulled back, wiping her eyes.

"Are you alright?" Ahsoka asked worriedly.

"Uh...yeah, I'm fine," Damian said. "How long was I out?"

"Months," Ahsoka said. "I'm not sure how many, exactly. I've been searching this temple while I waited for you to wake up. And I've been channeling the Light Side of the Force into you to keep the Dark Side here from affecting you, but I couldn't take you inside because the Dark Side is stronger there."

Damian nodded. "Are you okay? You disappeared."

"I...I was saved by you," Ahsoka said. "But, a future version of you."

"Future?" Damian asked. "How?"

"You and Ezra were in a...alternate dimension," Ahsoka said. "A world between worlds where you could affect time. When Vader was about to kill me, you pulled me through a portal and saved me. You also changed something else, but you warned me against telling you everything. And you gave me a specific job to do after I reach whatever time it's in that you go to that dimension, but again you told me not to tell you about it."

"I see," Damian nodded. "Makes sense." He again glanced at the floor. "So, now what?"

Ahsoka looked around. "Let's see what's in the temple." She gestured at an open door off to the side. "Once we're done that, we should get back to the fleet."

Damian nodded, pulling his helmet on, for lack of a better place to put it, and they headed into the door. Inside, everything was dark, and the Dark Side's presence was almost suffocating. However, they pressed onward. However, no matter where they searched, or for how long, all they found was an empty temple. There were no more Holocrons, there were no books. Any corpses they found were petrified, just like those outside the temple. There was nothing there for them to find. Finally, after several days of searching, they returned to the surface, sitting on the edge of the temple's wall.

"I can't believe there's nothing here," Ahsoka said.

"There was that Holocron, but it's gone after that explosion, and we couldn't open it anyway," Damian said.

"True," Ahsoka sighed, slipping her hand into his. "Thank you for fighting him with me. I'm not sure I could have handled fighting him alone."

"I'll always be there when you need me," Damian smiled. "Even if you don't want me to be."

Ahsoka smiled and kissed him. "So, how do we call for a ride?"

Damian hummed thoughtfully before pulling out his lightsaber, focusing on his kyber crystals as he began to meditate. It wasn't perfect, but it allowed him to meditate without the Dark Side bothering him. After several seconds of preparing, he extended his senses, searching for the one he knew would be able to feel him. Finally, he found her. Barriss was with Riyo, the two of them lying in bed and holding each other, both still feeling the pain of losing their best friends, but as soon as she felt Damian's presence, she jumped up, telling Riyo they were alive without even questioning it before both sprinted out of the room in order to find someone to help them search Malachor. Damian opened his eyes, putting his lightsaber away and sighed.

"Barriss and Riyo are on their way," Damian said. "It'll probably take a couple of hours, though."

Ahsoka nodded. "Let's search the temple one more time. I want to be sure we didn't miss anything."

Damian nodded and they headed back inside. However, as with the last time they searched, they found nothing. They returned to the surface again and found Barriss waiting at the top of the temple with the Wraith, Riyo, Jek and, Shaeeah standing with her. All four met Damian and Ahsoka with a group hug, knocking the pair to the ground as they sobbed happily. Damian and Ahsoka hugged them for a few moments before extracting themselves and getting up, ushering everyone onto the ship. Shaeeah flew them off of Malachor, away from the Dark Side infested temple, and Damian and Ahsoka meditated for a few minutes, both of them feeling far more calm once they had. Then, they explained that when the temple exploded, Damian had used the force to shield them from the blast, but that Vader had survived and they had been stranded without a ship.

"We all thought you were dead," Barriss said. "Kanan came back blind, and Ezra came back claiming it was all his fault. He's changed. Zera says he's been growing angrier recently. And she can sense darkness within him."

"I'll handle it," Damian said. "How's Alina been?"

"She misses you both," Riyo says. "She's been crying almost constantly since you two were reported dead. It's all Shia and Zera can do to keep her calm."

Ahsoka nodded. "I can't wait to see her again."

"Why'd you wait so long to contact me?" Barriss asked.

"I was in a coma," Damian said. "Blocking the explosion was too much for me."

Barriss nodded. "I see. I'm just glad you're both alive."

Damian nodded, glancing at his lightsaber. "I need to get his repaired."

"It's broken?" Barriss asked.

"It got burned out by Force Lightning," Damian said. "I need to swap the parts out."

"And the other one?" Barriss asked.

"It's Satele Shan's," Damian said. "I'm going to give it to Alina when she's old enough."

Barriss nodded. "We're not going to be back for a while. You two should get cleaned up and meditate. I can't imagine you were able to connect to the Light Side much there."

"No, we weren't," Damian agreed. "We'll be in our room if you need anything."

Everyone nodded and Damian and Ahsoka went to their room, both showering, brushing their teeth, showering again, and then getting changed into clean clothes, both putting on an outfit identical to the one they'd just taken off. As they meditated, Damian used the Force to scrub his helmet and armor, then set it aside, focusing on the Light Side of the Force. Over the next few hours, they alternated between meditating, and holding each other, Damian able to tell without even sensing her feelings that Ahsoka needed to be able to feel him holding and kissing her. Finally, the door opened and Barriss stepped inside, smiling as she saw them holding each other. They both held out an arm and Barriss stepped into them, both holding her tightly for a few moments before she smiled, stepping back.

"We're almost there," she smiled.

"Thank you for coming to save us," Damian said.

"Of course," Barriss smiled. "If I'd known you were alive, I'd have been there sooner."

Ahsoka smiled and nodded and they hugged Barriss again before following her back to the cockpit, giving each of the others a hug as well before sitting down in their chairs to wait. Before too long, they arrived at their base, which Damian was partially glad to see was on the same planet. When they landed, they found the entire Ghost crew, Rex, Shia, Zera with Alina in her arms, the Chiss he'd rescued from Azmorigan Maylene, and the two Twi'leks he'd recued with Maylene, Rena and Kira, all waiting for them. The reunion With the others was about as emotional as the reunion with Barriss and the rest of their family had been. Damian returned hugs and handshakes for several minutes before finally managing to reach Shia, Zera, and Alina. However, as soon as he had, Shia grabbed him by the face and kissed him, then hugged him, then gave Ahsoka a similar greeting. Damian shook his head, chuckling, only for Zera to surprise him with yet another kiss, hers a bit longer than Shia's. Then, she stepped back, passing Alina to him before hugging Ahsoka, who raised an eyebrow at Damian, who shrugged.

Alina had gotten big in the months they were away, but she clearly remembered them, because she latched onto Damian instantly.

"Dada!" Alina cried out, Damian's heart shattering and melting at the same time.

He'd missed so much of her life. Her first words, probably her first steps. But at least he was back. After a moment, Ahsoka stepped up beside him an Alina turned to her, reaching for her.

"Mama! Mama!"

Damian smiled, handing Alina to her and Ahsoka hugged her, Damian hugging them both, kissing Ahsoka, who had begun to cry. The others began to clear out to give them some privacy, and they remained there, holding their child and each other, for a long while before they headed toward the command center to find out what they'd missed.

Damian leaned against the wall, watching Ezra. Barriss had been understating it when he said there was darkness inside of him, or that he was angry. His Force Connection was a hot pink. He was falling to Dark Side, and he didn't even realize it. Just then, Sabine walked over to Ezra, beginning to talk to him. Damian's eyes widened as he watched Ezra's connection lightening back toward its normal whitish blue, though it stopped at a light pink. Damian hummed thoughtfully.

"You're thinking awfully hard," Zera said, stepping up beside him.

"I'm trying to figure out what to do about Ezra using the Dark Side," Damian said. "It looks like Sabine helps him return to the light, thankfully."

"Maybe if we got them together it'd give him the push he needs to leave the Dark Side behind," Zera said.

"I doubt it," Damian said. "It'll take something big for him to leave the Dark Side behind, not now that he's gotten a taste of its power." He snorted. "And it'll probably take something even bigger for them to finally get together."

Zera nodded, remaining silent for a few moments. "About what happened...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have kissed you. I was just relieved that you were alive, so I wasn't thinking."

"It's alright," Damian said. "No harm done. Although, you definite caught me by surprise. I didn't realize you felt like that about anyone but Shia."

"I...didn't realize it either," Zera said. "Not until I saw you walk off of that ship. But I promise you I don't mean to try and take you from Ahsoka. I-"

"I know," Damian smiled. "Shia has a monopoly on your heart. Trust me, I understand. It's the same way I feel about Ahsoka. You don't have to explain anything to me, Zera. Like I said, I'm not mad and neither is Ahsoka. We figured it was probably just you being relieved. Zeltrons are extremely emotionally driven, after all."

Zera nodded, smiling. "Thank you."

Damian nodded and pushed off the wall. "I'm going to check in with Kanan. Can you go and get Barriss and Ahsoka for training?"

Zera nodded and walked away, Damian heading to where Kanan spent all of his time meditating. He knelt beside the blinded Jedi and Kanan turned his head slightly to acknowledge him.

"You're going to get rusty just sitting here every day," Damian said.

"This is how you got stronger," Kanan pointed out.

"I'm a special case," Damian countered. "So are Barriss and Ahsoka, thanks to a coincidental accident years ago."

"What do you mean?" Kanan asked.

"Years ago, when I was still figuring things out, I used my Force Connection to strengthen Ahsoka and Barriss's," Damian said. "However, in doing so, I accidentally...transferred them some of my own power. They actually don't know about it because I only found out through visions before Malachor. I haven't gotten around to telling them yet, because I'm not actually sure if it's important. My power regenerated, but the piece I gave them remained as it was, no matter how much stronger or weaker they get, it remains as it is. So, I've decided to simply leave it. It allows them to be more powerful, and so far has yet to reveal any harmful effects."

Kanan nodded. "You should get going. You'll be late to training if you delay for long."

Damian sighed, standing. "If you'd let me teach you, you wouldn't have to be a hermit."

He turned, walking away, reaching the designated training area at the same time as Zera, Ahsoka, and Barriss. A few minutes later, Ezra and Sabine both arrived, Sabine holding Satele Shan's lightsaber, and the project she'd been working on for Damian for the week and a half since he got back.

"Sorry it took so long," Sabine said as Damian slipped Satele's lightsaber into the proper sleeve he'd made for it to hang across his back, then accepted the other. "Even with the proper parts, it was surprisingly hard to made the shell just right, even more so since I had to keep reforging the beskar in your last lightsaber's plating every time I messed up."

"Which is exactly why I asked you to do it," Damian said. "Only you could make a weapon as perfect as this."

"Just so you know, I accept flattery, but it's not going to get you any extra weapons," Sabine smirked. "Oh, and I fixed the longer one. It now separates like yours does, just in case you need it.

Damian chuckled and nodded, taking a moment to inspect his newly remade lightsaber. It was a perfect replica of Satele Shan's, except that it was the size of Damian's lightsaber, each half big enough only for one hand, and both conjoined being half the length of Satele's, exactly the same size as Damian's had been before being fried. He quickly used the Force to disassemble the lightsaber, placing his two kyber crystals inside of it, then reassembled it, switching it to training and testing it on the ground, the blade sparking off of the stone. He switched it back and tried again and it sliced through the stone as easily as it should. He switched it to training and nodded.

"Thank you very much Sabine," Damian said. "Now, Ezra, we need to have a very serious discussion."

"What?" Ezra asked.

"Why are you using the Dark Side?" Damian asked.

Ezra narrowed his eyes, then sighed irritably. "Because it works. What I've learned from that Holocron has allowed me to achieve one victory after another."

"Holocron?" Damian asked. "Oh God. You didn't."

"So what if I did?" Ezra asked. "I've been able to protect the people I care about because of what I've learned from it! Because I use the Dark Side! I'm using it for good!"

Damian sighed. "Ezra, have you ever heard the saying, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions?"

"No," Ezra said.

"It means that some of the worst people in history have done whatever they did with good intentions," Damian said. "For example. Malachor. Do you believe whatever happened that ended that war was good?"

"No," Ezra said. "It was horrible."

"And you're right," Damian said. "However, Whoever fired that weapon, most likely intended to do it so that their side of the battle could win. Good intentions, horrible actions. Or how about a more personal example. You meant to help us find a way to defeat the Sith, but instead, you got Kanan blinded, Maul escaped, and Ahsoka and I almost died."

"Damian!" Ahsoka gasped.

"That wasn't my fault!" Ezra snapped. "Maul tricked me! It's his fault!"

"You had the choice to help him, or to listen to us when we said not to trust him," Damian said. "You chose to trust Maul. The guilt lies with you, as much as with Maul. The others may not blame you, but that doesn't mean the blame is not yours."

Ezra glared at him, clenching his fists hard. "You should be careful not to anger me."

"And why's that?" Damian asked.

"Because I'm stronger when I'm angry," Ezra said. "I'm stronger than you."

"Do you hear yourself?" Damian asked. "You remember my warning about losing control without ever knowing it? Well you're getting close."

"What would you know!?" Ezra demanded. "You're so weak you can't even use the Dark Side without killing yourself! You're so afraid of me using it because you know it'll make me stronger than you!"

"Alright touch guy," Damian sighed, slipping his lightsaber into its holster sleeve. "Come and get me, if you're so great."

Ezra grabbed his lightsaber, which hung beside a second one now, and shot forward, extending the blade and slashing at Damian. However, Damian's hand closed around the blade, stopping it as Damian dispersed its energy, allowing him to hold it. Then, he flicked Ezra on the forehead, a small Force Push throwing Ezra backward. He grunted as he hit the ground and Damian sighed.

"I don't stay away from the Dark Side because I'm too weak to use it," Damian said. "I don't need it. I'm strong enough to defend those I care about without it."

"Well I'm not!" Ezra shouted before his anger faded, and his connection lightened back to a light shade of pink. "I'm not. I was too weak, and because of it, Kanan got blinded, and you and Ahsoka almost died. You were right. It's all my fault."

"What happened wasn't your fault, Ezra," Damian said. "I only said that to make you angry, to show you how easy it is to lose control."

Sabine knelt beside Ezra, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Ezra, it's alright. No one blames you. You know that, right? You're the only one who thinks it was your fault. The rest of us, we were all just happy you came back safely. I was just happy you came back safely."

Ezra looked up at her in surprise.

"You're our family, Ezra," Sabine said. "We can't stand to see you like this. Please. You don't need the Dark Side. You have us. You can lean on us when you feel weak. Let us be your strength."

Ezra was silent for a few seconds before sighing. "I'll try."

"That's enough for me," Sabine smiled, hugging him.

Ezra hugged her back, guilt filling his features as he stared at his lightsaber. "I'm sorry, Damian. I shouldn't have attacked you, and I shouldn't have said those things."

"It's alright," Damian said. "Now, are you ready to train?"

Ezra nodded and Damian drew his lightsaber, extending one blade as Ezra picked his back up, reigniting it. Then, they both charged.

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